Sampriti flyover to be inaugurated before Durga Puja: Firhad Hakim

Kolkata: State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim expressed his optimism that the Sampriti flyover, connecting Jinjira Bazar to Batanagar, will start operation before the Durga Puja.

"I am hopeful that construction work of the flyover will be over within a month. In the meantime, we will have the necessary safety certificates in place to make the bridge operational," Hakim said after inspecting the progress work of the elevated corridor on Saturday along with engineers of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), which is the implementing agency for the flyover. Senior officials of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the executing agency, were also present.

The minister said he would be seeking time from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and request her to inaugurate the flyover before Durga Puja. He further informed that the road under the flyover that has been damaged due to the construction work will also be spruced up on a war footing. "As soon as the flyover is ready for vehicular movement, we will close the road underneath for repair work. It will be repaired by December 1," Hakim maintained.

The minister also assured that the level of drains on either side of the road underneath the flyover that has got elevated due to "faulty" work will also be levelled in a proper manner soon after the flyover's construction is complete.

The flyover whose length is 6.8 km is expected to reduce the travel time from Batanagar to Taratala to a little more than 10 minutes from half-an-hour.

"We will be taking up widening of roads, construction of surface drains in such a manner that it will keep the provision of junction improvement at the Jinjira Bazar crossing so that the project's purpose of fast-tracking vehicular movement is served," a senior KMDA official said.

It may be mentioned that the flyover will be the first in the city to be built on a PPP model. The Centre will bear 35 percent of the cost since this is a JNNURM project. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 86.8 crore for the same. The rest has been borne by the consortium of River Bank Holdings and its joint venture partner L&T Dabriwala. The total cost is estimated to be around Rs 355 crore.

Sources in the Urban Development department said the Chief Minister has future plans of taking one flank of the flyover to Joka and another connecting Tollygunge Phari, Anwar Shah Road and Jadavpur, right up to Garia.