Click to play videoKolkata: A quarter century after the country’s first Metro Railway was introduced in Kolkata, the city is all geared up for an extension of the services till the southern tip of the city.
The eight-and-a-half kilometer long Tollygunge-New Garia extension of the North-South metro is expected to not only ease transport woes but also provide Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee her desired political advantage in the city.
This project received sanction after a decade and will be inaugurated by Banerjee.
But unlike the existing underground Metro, this extension would be on an elevated track and has been built at a cost of over Rs 1000 crore.
It would connect six additional stations beyond Tollygunge and reduce transportation time in this congested part of Kolkata from the earlier 45 minutes to just nine minutes.
As the project gets its final touches, security is the prime concern of the Metro officials.
“The track will be patrolled and station buildings will be protected, guarded by the RPF during the night time and in the day time both by the police and the RPF,” said Chief Operations Manager, Kolkata Metro Railway, JK Mitra.
Meanwhile, as a measure to attract more voters in her favour Banerjee has decided to rename the Tollygunge station after late Tollywood icon Uttam Kumar.
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