The Hindu Business Line : Howrah Bridge: Glowing with new radiance

The evening skyline in Kolkata came alive on Thursday evening when the 63-year-old Howrah Bridge, a structure synonymous with the identity of the city, was lit up by an array of multi-coloured electric lights, switched on by the West Bengal Governor, Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi.

The bridge, known since 1965 as Rabindra Setu, has now become part of an elite group of bridges around the world, which boast of such decorative illumination.

Tribute

For the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), custodians of the bridge since its inception, this project — which had taken eight months and cost around Rs 3.5 crores — is a fitting tribute to the busiest bridge in the world.

"The famous bridges of the world look attractive when they are photographed in the evening, well-lit and decorated in all their splendour," said Dr Anup Chanda, Chairman, KoPT.

"We realised this as we were planning a six-page calendar as part of our Diamond Jubilee celebrations, devoted to famous bridges, such as Tower Bridge, London, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Golden Gate, San Francisco, Firth of Forth Bridge, etc," he added.

Of the three types of illumination planned, the basic lighting is expected to consume around 146 KW of energy, special lighting will consume 350 KW while festive lighting with a requirement of 450 KW, will be almost like an industry, according to Dr Chanda.

While the lighting equipment had to be mostly imported from Phillips, the design was developed ingeniously by the late Tapas Sen, the craftsman of lighting techniques.

After his death in June, his son carried on the work begun by the father.

As the blue, white, silver, golden yellow and magenta lights on the bridge enthrall the viewer, preparations are on to execute the second part of the programme.

Laser shows

"We are planning to showcase the history of the city, the bridge as well as the river by means of lasers beamed on a jet propelled water screen," Dr Chanda said. "The show, which will be held midstream, will boost tourism as well as revolutionise advertising," he added.

Replacing the imported lighting equipment might be difficult and security will be stepped up to protect the installations. "We expect people to act responsibly and, in time, we may opt for a reasonable insurance cover," Dr Chanda added.

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