Daijiworld Media Network – Kolkata

Kolkata, Aug 22: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday revisited her tenure as Union Railway Minister, recalling her role in planning and sanctioning multiple Metro corridors in Kolkata, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepared to inaugurate three new routes adding 13 km to the city’s expanding metro network.

In a nostalgic online post, Mamata Banerjee wrote, “As the Railways Minister of India, I was fortunate in planning and sanctioning series of Metro Railway corridors in metropolitan Kolkata. I had drawn the blueprints, arranged the funds, initiated the works and ensured that the different ends of the city (Joka, Garia, Airport, Sector V, etc) were connected by an intra-city Metro grid.”

The Trinamool Congress chief, who held the Railway portfolio twice — during 1999-2000 under the NDA and again from 2009-2011 in the UPA era — said she later contributed to the execution of these projects as the state’s Chief Minister. “From the State, I arranged free land, paved roads, arranged rehabilitation of displaced people, removed impediments, and ensured all help in the execution of projects,” she said.

Kolkata, the first Indian city to get an underground metro in 1984, has recently expanded its network to improve connectivity to its northern, southern, eastern, and western fringes. The three new stretches being inaugurated are the Noapara–Jai Hind Bimanbandar section, Sealdah–Esplanade section, and Beleghata–Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section.

While the Noapara–Jai Hind Bimanbandar corridor will enhance access to the airport, the Sealdah–Esplanade line is expected to cut travel time by nearly 30 minutes, and the Beleghata–Hemanta Mukhopadhyay stretch will strengthen links with the city’s IT hub.

Ms Banerjee, however, has decided to skip the inauguration ceremony, reportedly in protest against the alleged harassment of migrants from West Bengal in BJP-ruled states.