Alleging that the Trinamool Congress leaders boycotted the program, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited for the program at the last minute.
Alleging that the Trinamool Congress leaders boycotted the program, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited for the program at the last minute.
Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday inaugurated the Sealdah Metro station on the East-West Corridor amid Trinamool Congress allegation that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited for the event at the last minute. Several Trinamool leaders, including Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, said the central government did not show due respect to the chief minister, who had envisioned the project during his tenure as railway minister. Trinamool MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and MLA Paresh Pal boycotted the program on the grounds of insulting the Chief Minister.
Ms. Irani said the 2.33-km extension of the Eastern Metro from Phoolbagan to Sealdah would help about 35,000 commuters in their daily commute. East West Metro Project is a mega infrastructure project that will connect Howrah Maidan in Salt Lake to Sector V at a distance of 16.6 kms. About 10.8 km from Howrah to Phoolbagan is underground with parts of the tunnel under the Hooghly river bed. The East-West Metro services started in phases in March 2020 and currently operates on a short stretch of 6.6 km from Sector V to Phulbagan with six stations.
Ms Irani said she was not aware why the Chief Minister and Trinamool members did not participate in the programme. “I was invited at the last minute as well. But it was important for me to be a part of the historic occasion,” she said. The question was also raised as to why the station was inaugurated by Ms. Irani, not Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav.
In May this year, the East West Metro project faced a hiccup when the East West Metro tunnel saw water leaks, and buildings developed cracks in North Kolkata’s Bowbazar area.
A similar situation had developed in August 2019, when a tunnel boring machine collided with an aquifer, causing several buildings to collapse and several buildings in the region to collapse. Work on a significant portion of the Metro tunnels connecting Sealdah has been put on hold for the time being.