Infra boost: Construction of Kulia Bridge in Amta commences

kolkata: State Public Works Department (PWD) minister Pulak Roy marked the beginning of construction of Kulia Bridge in Amta, Howrah. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had laid the foundation stone of the bridge from her distribution programme at Panchla that was held in February.

The bridge which will be completed within two years will be of immense benefit for 50000 odd residents residing in the islands within two gram panchayat area which is surrounded by Rupnarayan and Mundeshwari rivers.

The villagers had to use a bamboo bridge at the time of low tide for crossing rivers while ferry service could be availed only during high tide and in the rainy season. “It was a long standing demand of the residents for construction of a bridge to facilitate movement. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during one of her political meeting in 2021 had assured the people of a bridge and now it will be a reality in two years time,”Sukanta Pal, MLA Amta said.

Pal added that people from the riverine areas of Weest Midnapore and Hooghly will also reap benefits of the project. He further alleged that during the erstwhile Left Front government foundation stone was laid on three occasions but there was no further progress.

The bridge will be 150 metre long and 10 metre wide and the total expenditure for construction of the bridge will be Rs 26 crore. Another Rs 3 crore has been approved for acquiring land for the project.

Work for flood management in Amta and Udaynarayanpur area is presently going on through funds from World Bank.Roy said that projects have been undertaken to stop erosion of river Rupnarayan. He also assured of constructing a bus stand with all modern facilities at Kulia.