KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): One of the most awaited metro projects, the Dakshineswar Metro station is scheduled to be opened on the eve of Durga Puja according to some sources. The station has been built accordingly with the existing architectural ethos of the Dakshineswar temple town. From the Metro station, devotees will be able to move straight to the skywalk which leads to the temple complex. The station is construction is being given the final touch before the trial of the trains.
Significantly, with this extension of the north-south Metro, two major Kali Kshetras (two pilgrimage spots related to goddess Kali) — Kalighat and Dakshineswar — will come within a 15-minute distance. “People living in other cities can now cover three spiritual destinations — Kalighat, Dakshineswar and Belur Math — within one-and-a-half-hour and catch a flight back. The airport is only 10km away from the Dakshineswar station,” a Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) officer was quoted by a media agency. RVNL is the executing agency of the Dakshineswar extension of New Garia-Noapara Metro corridor, better known as the north-south Metro.
The Metro station, one of the most modern stations as far as passenger amenities are concerned, will have elevators, escalators, disabled friendly tickets counters. There will be an easy passenger interface with Dakshineswar suburban railway station that runs parallel to the Metro tracks. Metro Railway has a plan to run services at a five-minute interval.
“Despite the lockdown and our struggle with Covid-19 infection, we managed to keep the workflow undisturbed. Infected people were treated and people coming in contact with them were isolated. But the work continued. So the progress, though severely hampered, has moved towards completion,” an RVNL official was stated saying it.
Once ready, it will only take a few minutes to travel to Dakshineswar from south Kolkata. It now takes a few hours for the same. It will be a great help for people living in northern suburbs or even in places like Dankuni in Hooghly to get easy access to the heart of the city as the Metro is well connected with the Sealdah -Dankuni suburban line.
Though conceived in 2010-11 by the then Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee, the construction of the 4.2km corridor began in 2017 after long-standing land issues were resolved by the active intervention of the state government at the highest level.
Once the Noapara-Airport line, which is being constructed at a faster pace, is ready, it will be a fast-track pilgrimage by outstation devotees who toil to reach these holy places, said a Railway official. When operational, Dakshineswar Metro, which is well connected by bus transit system, ferry and suburban railway, there will be a manifold increase in the passenger count, which has already touched 6.5 lakh a day.
Why would communists care about durga puja? This should be inaugurated on Stalin’s birthday
We Bengalis, cutting across religion and CASTE celebrate durga puja. This is our point of unity and we shall preserve it at all cost. This unity gave us the power (along with Punjab and maha) to lead the armed struggle against British and hope one day too soon, lead the way for a new Bengali renaissance to produce another Bankim Chandra/JC Bosr/Rabindranath
West Bengal is under TMC lead by former Railway Minister and current CM of WB Mamata Banerjee,
not CPI(M)
Then Why not Remount Rd to Sontoshpur inaugurated by our Didi before this(Dakineswar)