PM Modi inaugurates India's first underwater metro line in Kolkata
Kolkata, Mar 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated Kolkata Metro's Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section, which passes below the mighty Hooghly river through the country's first underwater transportation tunnel.
He also took a ride on a metro train from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan and interacted with school students during the journey passing through the tunnel, which is a testament to the country's engineering capabilities.
He returned to the Esplanade station through the same route, and was accompanied by Leader of the Opposition in the state Suvendu Adhikari during the trip.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the programme.
The 4.8-km Esplanade-Howrah Maidan stretch, which is a part of the East-West Corridor, has been built at a cost of Rs 4,960 crore, officials said.
The PM also inaugurated the 1.25-km-long Taratala-Majherhat section of the Joka-Esplanade line. It has been built at a cost of Rs 520 crore, they said.
The Rs 1,430-crore Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section of the New Garia-Airport line was also inaugurated from the function at the Esplanade metro station.
The Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay stretch, which is 5.4 km long, will bring the areas in the south-eastern parts of Kolkata on the metro map, officials said.
These sections will help decongest road traffic and provide seamless, easy and comfortable connectivity, a statement said.
The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of the East-West corridor has the first transportation tunnel under "any mighty river in India". It passes under the Hooghly river, on the east and west banks of which Kolkata and Howrah are situated.
The stretch also has the deepest metro station in the country -- the Howrah metro station, at 32 metre below the ground.
The East-West metro corridor, the construction for which commenced on April 14, 2009, has suffered several delays owing to various issues, including accidents at Bowbazar in central Kolkata.
The stretch between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade is the second section of the corridor, in which commercial operations would begin. With this, only the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch of the line is left to be completed.
Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy had earlier said it is targeting June-July this year to start commercial operation on the entire line.
Completion of the project has suffered delays owing to an aquifer burst at Bowbazar on August 31, 2019, leading to severe ground subsidence and the collapse of a number of buildings there and two more water leakage incidents at the same site in 2022 during tunneling and construction work.
The Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah stretch of the East-West Metro corridor is commercially operational at present.
Of the total 16.6 km length of the line, the underground section is 10.8 km long between Howrah Maidan and Phoolbagan, while the rest is elevated.
The Majerhat metro station of the Taratala-Majerhat section is a unique elevated metro station across railway lines, platforms and a canal, the statement said.
The 6.5-km section between Joka and Taratala of the Joka-Esplanade line is already operational.
Along with these, the PM unveiled metro projects in various cities of the country. These projects are cumulatively worth around Rs 15,400 crore, officials said.
#WATCH | West Bengal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with school students as they travel in India's first underwater metro train, in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/lQye0OnuqP
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2024
#WATCH | India's first underwater metro rail service in Kolkata set to be inaugurated by PM Modi on 6th March pic.twitter.com/ib5938Vn8x
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2024
#WATCH | West Bengal: Visuals of India's first underwater metro train to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata today. pic.twitter.com/VxJ0LNlVk1
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2024
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UP: Teen girl found hanging from tree; locals claim rape, murder
Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): The body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in a village under the Manikpur police station area here on Sunday morning, police said.
According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, stated that the circumstances suggest foul play.
"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.
While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."
"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination," the officer added.
Police further clarified that if the medical report confirms sexual assault, relevant sections will be added to the FIR.
Forensic experts and police teams have collected evidence from the spot and are investigating the matter from all angles.
