The Hindu Business Line : ‘Project to build bridge across Hooghly not shelved’

Kolkata, Sept 4 The Kukrahati-Raichak bridge project (across the Hooghly river) designed to connect the two districts of South 24 Paraganas and East Midnapore, has not been shelved and the West Bengal Government hopes to implement it with assistance from the Union Government, according to Mr Kshiti Goswami, West Bengal Minister of Public Works Department.

“The State Government has taken up the project with the Central Government with the request to include it in the 13th five-year Plan,” Mr Goswami told newspersons on the sidelines of an interactive session organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce here on Thursday.

The State Government had earlier planned to execute the project with the help of the Indonesia-based Salim Group.

The Salim Group, he said, had demanded a vast stretch of land (close to 2,000-2,500 acres) for the construction of the bridge as well as a township in Baruipur.

“The area alongside Kukrahati being a two-crop agricultural land, it is not possible to give that land to them,” he said.

The Memorandum of Understanding of the State Government with the Salim Group was therefore withdrawn, he said. The bridge, when constructed, would substantially reduce the time to travel from Kolkata to Haldia, he added.

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