Kolkata: PM Modi Unveils India's First Underwater Metro

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 6, inaugurated India's first ever underwater metro route in Kolkata, a significant project that demonstrated the progress made towards infrastructure development.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of numerous connectivity projects estimated to be worth Rs 15,400 crore.

The metro railway services inaugurated by the Prime Minister include operations from Kolkata Metro's Kavi Subhash, Majerhat and the Esplanade stations; Kochi Metro, Agra Metro, Meerut-RRTS section and Pune Metro.

The underwater service happens to be part of the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro's East-West corridor, which is slated to cover a distance of 4.8 km under the Hooghly river.

Howrah and Salt Lake - the twin cities of the West Bengal state capital - will be connected through the metro service. Three out of six stations will be underground and it is expected to pass through a 520-metre long stretch under the Hooghly in just 45 seconds.

PM Modi can be seen taking the first ride on the underwater metro alongside several school students.

A video surfaced wherein the Prime Minister was spotted inside the metro train's premises, interacting with the school children sitting next to him, while some of them stood near him.

He waved to passengers of another metro train when it passed by the one he was riding on.

PM Modi was also accompanied by West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, along with several metro staffers, on the metro train.

High-ranking officials and dignitaries attended the inauguration ceremony.

"Although the inauguration will take place tomorrow (Wednesday), the passenger services will begin at a later date," the PTI news agency quoted Kaushik Mitra, the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Railway, as saying.

Meanwhile, the inauguration of the landmark project comes less than a year after Kolkata Metro, in April 2023, created history by operating a train through the underwater tunnel as part of trials, which was a first in India.

Apart from the underwater metro tunnel, PM Modi is also set to inaugurate the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and the Taratala-Majerhat Metro sections in Kolkata today.

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