Modi inaugurates 3 Metro stretches; Mamata says drew blueprints, arranged funds as Rly Min

Kolkata: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three new Metro stretches in Kolkata, and launched a key expressway project on Friday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a nostalgic post on social media, asserted that it was during her stint as Railway Minister that she had “drawn the blueprints, arranged funds, initiated the work, and ensured that different ends of the city were connected by Metro Rail services.”

The Prime Minister unveiled Rs 5,200-crore worth of infrastructure projects, including three crucial metro stretches – Sealdah to Esplanade (Green Line, 2.6 km), Noapara to Jai Hind Bimanbandar (Yellow Line, 6.77 km), and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay to Beleghata (Orange Line, 4.39 km).

The inauguration of the 13.61 km-long Metro network in Kolkata directly connected the Kolkata airport with the rest of the city, the first time in 41 years. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation for a 7.2-km elevated Kona Expressway, worth over Rs 1,200 crore, which is expected to ensure better connectivity between Howrah and Kolkata.

The Chief Minister, who skipped the Metro inauguration programme, took a veiled swipe at the BJP-led Centre, noting that as Chief Minister she later provided free land for the projects, arranged rehabilitation for displaced people, and extended full cooperation to ensure their execution.

Sources in the ruling party said her decision to stay away came in the wake of alleged harassment of migrant workers from Bengal in BJP-ruled states.

The Bengal Chief Minister, who held the Railway portfolio twice—first in the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1999 and 2001, and again during the Congress-led UPA-2 from 2009 to 2011—said it was in her second stint that she sanctioned the series of metro expansion projects across Kolkata.

She noted that her initiatives as Railway minister had eventually taken shape, which made her “nostalgic.” “My planning as Railways Minister got fulfillment in my participation in execution. Expanding Metro infrastructure has been a long journey for me. Allow me some nostalgia today,” Banerjee wrote on X.

Revisiting her time as the Union Railway minister, Banerjee wrote on X: “Allow me to be a little nostalgic today. As the Railways Minister of India, I was fortunate in planning and sanctioning a series of Metro Railway corridors in metropolitan Kolkata. I had drawn the blueprints, arranged the funds, initiated the works and ensured that the different ends of the city ( Joka, Garia, Airport, Sector V, etc) were connected by an intra-city Metro grid.”

She also recalled how, as Chief Minister, she ensured the projects materialised and extended all possible cooperation.

“Later, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, I had the additional privilege of taking part in execution of the projects. From the State, I arranged free land, paved roads, arranged rehabilitation of displaced people, removed impediments, and ensured all help in the execution of projects,” Banerjee said.

Highlighting the efforts put in by her government, Banerjee said: “Our chief secretaries successively held a series of coordination meetings to ensure integration of execution agencies.”

During the programme, the Prime Minister said that when India was moving towards becoming the third-largest economy, the role of Dum Dum, Kolkata, increased further. “This programme is proof that today’s India is working for the development of every city. Green mobility efforts are being made in every city; the number of electric charging points and electric buses is being increased... The Metro network is being expanded and everyone is proud that India has the third largest metro network in the world,” he said.