CM inaugurates new Tala Bridge, seeks land from Rlys for the poor

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday inaugurated the Hemanta Setu, popularly known as Tala Bridge, and presented it as a Puja gift to the people of north Kolkata and sought a vacant plot of land from the Railways for accommodating about 145 poor families of the area who need to be rehabilitated.

"There are 145 poor families in the area who need to be rehabilitated. There is a vacant plot with the Railways that we want to purchase. I would request them to hand over the land to us. If we get this plot, we can accommodate these poor families or else we would have to shift them to the Khalpar (canal) Road as we don't possess any vacant land in the area. Money would not be a problem in this issue. This is my commitment so that these poor families can live peacefully," Banerjee said during the inauguration programme.

KMDA (Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority) and Urban Development department have been identifying lands for accommodating these people.

She added that the bridge will ease traffic congestion in the area. The new bridge is of four lanes while the earlier one was of two lanes and is wider with higher load capacity. The bridge has a length of 750 metres while the Chitpore ramp is 300 metres.

The state government has spent Rs 504 crore for the construction of the bridge.

It has taken two-and-half-years to dismantle and construct the new bridge.

Banerjee regretted that the state government had to pay Rs 90 crore to Railways for demolishing the Tala Bridge though she had expected that the money would have been waived off as it was for a social cause.

Reiterating the importance given in the last 11 years for upgrading infrastructure, Banerjee said new flyovers, four airports and 26 helicopter services have been planned.

"The state government has planned to build a host of flyovers which would be constructed after funds are available. Tala to Dunlop, Paikpara to Sealdah and Airport Gate to Jessore Road and VIP Road connector are some of the flyovers in the pipeline," she said.

Speaking at the programme, Banerjee expressed her ire at how footpaths were being occupied by new shopkeepers every day thereby congesting the area. "I am against hawker eviction. But hawkers keep on adding shops. The administration knows for a fact that even the local leaders are aware of it but no one acts. Things can't go on in this manner. This is why I wanted hawkers to be provided with some identity cards. Enough is enough," she added.

Currently, only light vehicles will be allowed to ply on Tala Bridge. Buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles will start plying on the bridge after Durga Puja.