With the Ministry of Railways failing to allocate land to Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation for construction of underground stations at Howrah and Sealdah, work on the East-West Metro project may not begin within the stipulated time frame The ambitious East-West Metro project in Kolkata that aims to connect Sector V of Salt Lake to Howrah has run into trouble, with the Ministry of Railways failing to hand over land to Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) for construction of underground stations at two of its key passenger interfaces, Howrah and Sealdah. While KMRC has blamed the Railway Ministry for the stalemate, railway officials have cited a design change at Howrah station as the major cause of delay. It is to be noted that the project is to partly kick off in 2012 and will become fully operational by 2014.
A KMRC official, who did not wish to be named, said, “As of now, we have not been allotted land for the construction of terminals at Howrah and Sealdah stations. Therefore, we believe it will be very difficult to commission the project on time. The Railway Ministry needs to expedite the process so that work can commence soon.” Construction of underground stations is scheduled to begin in September 2010, with the arrival of tunnel-boring machine for Sealdah section. The equipment for construction of underground station at the Howrah section is expected to come by January next year.
 Commuters worriedMeanwhile, the project deadlock has irked the commuting fraternity who opine that the delay will only elevate their hardships. According to KMRC officials, the land for the project was to be transferred to them latest by April this year, but a formal approval from the Ministry is yet to come. KMRC needs about 15,000 square metres of land each at Howrah and Sealdah for construction of underground stations and has even agreed to pay Rs 30 crore as land price.
In this context, Bimal Goenka, proprietor of Amit Transport Company, a mid-sized transportation firm in Kolkata, says, “The East-West Metro project will give a whole new dimension to the transportation scenario in Kolkata. It will save substantial amount of time for commuters. It will be quite unfortunate if the project gets delayed because of land issues. An immediate solution needs to be arrived at to break the stalemate. With a surge in passenger density at Howrah and Sealdah stations, the project will result in less crowded buses and local trains.”
Talks with KMRC to solve the issue
Meanwhile, considering the importance and the sensitivity of the issue, railway officials will talk to KMRC officials over the next few weeks. A meeting in this regard was conducted earlier in the month, but no solution was reached. A senior railway official of Howrah said that KMRC’s technical team needs to modify the design of the project in accordance with Howrah station’s plans to develop itself into a world-class station. The design needs to keep in focus the number of platforms, underground subways and other facilities that the station plans to develop. However, considering the vast number of commuters at Howrah and Sealdah, it is difficult to compromise on space front in these two stations. During peak hours, several lakh commuters avail services of these two stations.
Arup Choudhury |
