East-West Metro work to start in March

Kolkata, 5 February : Work on the much-awaited and much-debated East-West Metro is slated to begin in March at the Salt Lake end of the project.
The terminal Metro station at Salt Lake will be at the IT hub-Nabadiganta township. There will be a depot at Central Park as well.
This year, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has set a target of finishing work that would involve a total expenditure of Rs 253 crore, which is 5.4% of the total project cost of Rs 4,676 crore.
However, transport experts maintained that the opposite should have happened. Construction should have begun at the Howrah Maidan end. Even before its completion, trains could have been run between Howrah Maidan and Mahakaran (Writers' Buildings). Demand on this stretch is much higher than on the elevated stretch between the IT hub and Salt Lake stadium.
A senior transport department official admitted that construction in Salt Lake is thought to be a hassle-free affair as 99% of the work would be executed on government land. Besides, an elevated portion can be showcased easily. Underground construction at the Howrah end, particularly under the Hooghly bed, would be arduous and technology dependent. About 8 km of the East-West Metro will be underground, while 5.7 km is on elevated tracks.
KMRC has already selected the general consultant (GC) a consortium of companies like Consulting Engineering Services and Yachio. The GC will work on the technical nitty-gritty of the project.
In central Kolkata, there were technical problems over land acquisition for the Mahakaran station, which will be near the state secretariat on Brabourne Road. KMRC is looking at options on how the station can be built without razing houses, said an official.
The current alignment of the East-West Metro touches Sector V, Sector II, Central Park, Sector-I, Salt Lake stadium, Sealdah, Bowbazar, Writers' Buildings (Mahakaran), Howrah station, Kadamtala and Dasnagar. The route will intersect with the present Metro alignment at Central station.