PM Modi in Kolkata today, to unveil India’s 1st underwater Metro route, other projects of ₹15,400 crore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, March 6, will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various projects worth ₹15,400 crore in Kolkata as part of his 10-day visit to 12 states and union territories (UTs). This will be his second visit to West Bengal within five days.

List of projects PM Modi will inaugurate in Kolkata, West Bengal:

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West corridor, signalling India’s first venture into underwater Metro services. According to an official release, the 4.8-km stretch of the East-West Metro has been built at a cost of ₹4,965 crore and will have the deepest Metro station in India at Howrah – 30 metres below the ground level. The corridor will help connect key areas such as the IT hub Salt Lake Sector V.

According to the Central Railways, while the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West corridor will be inaugurated today, the passenger services will begin at a later date.

The PM will also flag off other train services during his visit to Kolkata focusing on enhancing avenues for ensuring ease of urban mobility. These include – the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and the Taratala-Majerhat Metro sections.

Apart from these, PM Modi will also dedicate to the nation Pune Metro from Ruby Hall Clinic to Ramwadi stretch; Kochi Metro Rail Phase I Extension project (Phase IB) from SN Junction Metro station to Tripunithura Metro station; Agra Metro’s stretch from Taj East Gate to Mankameshwar; and Duhai-Modinagar (North) section of Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor.

Later in the afternoon, PM Modi is also expected to address a public rally at Barasat in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, where Sandeshkhali is situated.

PM Modi’s last visit to Bengal

Last week, PM Modi visited West Bengal where he addressed two rallies in Hooghly’s Arambagh and Nadia’s Krishnanagar. During his address, he slammed the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government over “atrocities on women” in Sandeshkhali, saying that the “entire country is seething with anger over the issue”. He also called upon people to ensure TMC’s defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, Modi also met Mamata Banerjee at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata – which the chief minister called a “courtesy meeting” as per the protocol.