Kolkata: In another significant stride to facilitate the daily commute of Behala residents who have been affected following the caving in of Majerhat bridge, the state government has decided to set up two bridges.
The first bridge would come up near Karunamoyee bridge and would be ready by December. The second bridge would be along DL Shah Road and is expected to be ready by January. The designs and the detailed project reports for both the bridges are ready.
State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim, who visited the sites of the two proposed bridges on Thursday, said that the two bridges will be of immense help to the residents of Behala and Thakurpukur.
"Ever since Majerhat bridge caved in, the load on Durgapur bridge has increased immensely. The situation will improve with the two proposed bridges," Hakim said. Officials of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) were also present, along with the engineers of Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA), which is the implementing agency for the two bridges.
According to the minister, the location of the two bridges will not require any relocation or rehabilitation for anybody. "The Tolly Club has agreed to give away a part of the land which will be used for setting up the second bridge, he added.
The exact cost is yet to be estimated but it would be somewhat similar to the cost of the Bailey bridge that has recently been set up at Majerhat, the minister said.
It may be mentioned that the state government has already come up with two Bailey bridges on Chetla boat canal, connecting the Behala-New Alipore side with Alipore that has started operation on October 13. Small and medium vehicles from the Behala-New Alipore side travel towards the Alipore side. The bridges, along with the level-crossing, connect the southward extension of Alipore Avenue with Block G in New Alipore, from where they move around 600 metres to connect with Humayun Kabir Sarani.
The state had sought permission from the Railways to set up another level-crossing parallel to the Majerhat bridge, which was turned down because of technical reasons.
"The distance between the starter signal at Majerhat station and the advanced starter signal is too small for the railways to set up a level-crossing. Our safety protocol does not permit such a deviation," a railway official reasoned.
The state government has also constructed a walkway adjacent to Majerhat bridge on Chetla canal. Hume pipes have been placed and its upper portion has been concretised.