Kolkata: Metro Railway authorities have issued a formal land acquisition notice for the construction of the Mominpur to Esplanade corridor (excluding Mominpur), as part of the second phase of Kolkata Metro’s Purple Line (Joka–BBD Bag project).
The land acquisition notice, officially published on Sunday, outlines the necessity of acquiring user rights over land, buildings, roads, passages, drains (nullahs) and other related infrastructure essential for the construction of the corridor.
This move comes as construction along the Majerhat–Esplanade stretch gathers momentum. On July 10, tunnelling operations began between Khidderpore and Victoria, following the launch of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) ‘Durga’ from the shaft built within the premises of St. Thomas’ School in Khidderpore. According to the notification, land is being acquired for several key components of the corridor: an elevated ramp to Khidderpore station, the Khidderpore underground station itself, cut-and-cover sections between Khidderpore and the TBM launching shaft and launching shafts for lowering and retrieving the machine within the boundaries of St. Thomas’ School and the Victoria station site.
Land has also been earmarked for the Victoria underground station, TBM-based tunnelling between Victoria and Park Street stations, Park Street Station and further tunnelling between Park Street and Esplanade. This final segment is to be constructed using the traditional cut-and-cover method.
Metro sources confirmed that most disputes over land ownership in the identified zones have already been resolved and no major acquisition hurdles are expected.
As per the notice, no building or construction activity will be permitted above the proposed Metro alignment or on any land within 20 metres on either side of the centre line of the Up and Down tracks, for a period of four years from the date of publication.