State reviews water transport project before 2026 elections

Kolkata: State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim on Monday chaired a high-level review meeting with ministers from three departments to assess the progress of water transport development and evaluate how much work can be completed before next year’s Assembly elections.

State Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty, Housing minister Aroop Biswas, Finance and Environment minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, Irrigation and Waterways minister Manas Bhunia and senior officials attended the meeting at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters.

“We reviewed the work executed so far, assessed how much progress can be made before the Assembly polls and what will remain pending. Several new jetties and vessels have already come up for developing the water transport sector, and work is progressing in full swing,” Chakraborty said after the meeting. The project is being implemented through a Rs 1,000-crore World Bank loan to boost both passenger and freight movement across five densely populated districts of South Bengal that constitute the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), home to nearly one-third of the state’s population.

KMA covers four municipal corporations and 37 municipalities, spanning Kolkata and parts of North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Howrah, Nadia and Hooghly. The riverine route along the Hooghly, passing areas such as Kolkata, Baranagar, Barrackpore, Chandannagore, Serampore, Tribeni, Uluberia, Budge Budge, Maheshtala and Pujali, is included in the project.

Chakraborty added that riverbank erosion must be factored into ongoing work.

“The Centre has not allocated any funds to address erosion despite repeated requests from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. We will soon hold a meeting with the Irrigation department to resolve certain issues for further progress,” he said.