Kolkata finally keeps date with Chingrighata Metro link after years of Mamata-era roadblocks

The successful joining of the viaduct over the EM Bypass is being seen as a major breakthrough for Metro connectivity between New Garia, Sector V and the airport corridor.

For years, the project had remained trapped in political and administrative hurdles under the Mamata Banerjee government, with repeated objections over traffic diversion and construction permissions slowing progress on the crucial missing link.

The delay had drawn sharp criticism from commuters, urban planners and even the judiciary.

In earlier hearings, the court had reprimanded state authorities over the prolonged obstruction and the lack of coordination affecting public infrastructure work, observing that an important mass transit project could not remain hostage to endless procedural delays.

With the change in government and fresh clearances being issued, engineers were finally able to complete the pending girder-launching and joining work at Chingrighata. Officials and transport observers say the completion restores momentum to a project once considered a victim of political roadblocks and administrative indecision.

The development is being welcomed as Kolkata finally keeping date with a long-promised Metro expansion aimed at easing pressure on the congested eastern corridor and strengthening connectivity to the city’s IT and airport zones.

Sharing a video of the completion of the girder work at the metro stretch, Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote on Facebook, "We have successfully bridged the 62-metre viaduct gap at Chingrighata – a critical link on Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line."

Targeting the former Trinamool Congress-led government over the delay, he said: "TMC kept it stalled for years by refusing basic traffic diversion permissions. Even after the High Court and Supreme Court cleared the project, the work still never moved."

"The obstruction ended. With night traffic blockades over two successive weekends, the work is complete, and the busy crossing road reopened 3 hours ahead of schedule," he said.

Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote, "What Mamata Banerjee couldn’t do in 15 years, Suvendu Adhikari and the BJP government have delivered in just 15 days."

West Bengal witnessed a political change this month when the Bharatiya Janata Party registered a landslide victory in the Assembly polls, dislodging the TMC from power after its 15-year rule.

(Images: Ministry of Railways/X)