On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating three new metro lines in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recalled her role as former Railway Minister in planning and initiating the city’s major metro corridors.
Kolkata : On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kolkata to inaugurate three new metro lines, West Bengal Chief Minister and former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee took to social media with a pointedly nostalgic note, reminding citizens of her role in conceiving and initiating many of the city’s metro expansion projects.
In her post, Banerjee struck a tone of both pride and reminiscence, writing that as India’s Railway Minister she had the 'fortune' of planning and approving several metro corridors for Kolkata. She listed areas such as Joka, Behala, Taratala, Garia, Noapara, Dakshineswar, the airport, Dum Dum, and Sector V, among others, as part of the blueprint she had envisioned to create a 'grand metropolitan metro grid' linking the city’s different corners.
Banerjee emphasized that she not only approved the plans but also ensured the required funding, laid down the blueprint, and started the work during her tenure. She recalled inaugurating connections such as Tollygunge–Garia, Dum Dum–Garia, Dakshineswar–Dum Dum, and Salt Lake–Howrah, and underlined her role in making the East-West Metro route more practical by modifying its alignment. She also pointed out that under her leadership, Kolkata was granted a separate Metro Railway Zone — the country’s 21st zone, a first-of-its-kind step for the city — alongside her announcement of building world-class stations.
As Chief Minister, Banerjee noted, she continued to play an active role in the projects’ implementation, particularly by providing land free of cost from the state government, building connecting roads, and arranging rehabilitation for the displaced, thereby removing bottlenecks for faster completion. She stressed the state’s role in holding multiple coordination meetings between different executing agencies to ensure smooth progress.
`Today, allow me to be a little nostalgic,` Banerjee wrote, underscoring her sense of ownership of Kolkata’s metro expansion. “It is my pride that the projects I initiated as Railway Minister were also carried forward and implemented by us as a government in the state.”
Her remarks, released just before Modi’s high-profile visit, have added a clear political undertone to the day’s developments. While the Prime Minister’s presence in Kolkata marks the Union government’s role in the city’s expanding infrastructure, Banerjee’s reminder seeks to reinforce her legacy as the original architect of the metro expansion drive.
The timing of her message, therefore, has sparked speculation of an indirect political contest over credit — between a Prime Minister inaugurating new projects and a Chief Minister highlighting that the foundation of these very projects was laid by her.
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| Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee. Stock Image. |
Kolkata : On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kolkata to inaugurate three new metro lines, West Bengal Chief Minister and former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee took to social media with a pointedly nostalgic note, reminding citizens of her role in conceiving and initiating many of the city’s metro expansion projects.
In her post, Banerjee struck a tone of both pride and reminiscence, writing that as India’s Railway Minister she had the 'fortune' of planning and approving several metro corridors for Kolkata. She listed areas such as Joka, Behala, Taratala, Garia, Noapara, Dakshineswar, the airport, Dum Dum, and Sector V, among others, as part of the blueprint she had envisioned to create a 'grand metropolitan metro grid' linking the city’s different corners.
Banerjee emphasized that she not only approved the plans but also ensured the required funding, laid down the blueprint, and started the work during her tenure. She recalled inaugurating connections such as Tollygunge–Garia, Dum Dum–Garia, Dakshineswar–Dum Dum, and Salt Lake–Howrah, and underlined her role in making the East-West Metro route more practical by modifying its alignment. She also pointed out that under her leadership, Kolkata was granted a separate Metro Railway Zone — the country’s 21st zone, a first-of-its-kind step for the city — alongside her announcement of building world-class stations.
As Chief Minister, Banerjee noted, she continued to play an active role in the projects’ implementation, particularly by providing land free of cost from the state government, building connecting roads, and arranging rehabilitation for the displaced, thereby removing bottlenecks for faster completion. She stressed the state’s role in holding multiple coordination meetings between different executing agencies to ensure smooth progress.
`Today, allow me to be a little nostalgic,` Banerjee wrote, underscoring her sense of ownership of Kolkata’s metro expansion. “It is my pride that the projects I initiated as Railway Minister were also carried forward and implemented by us as a government in the state.”
Her remarks, released just before Modi’s high-profile visit, have added a clear political undertone to the day’s developments. While the Prime Minister’s presence in Kolkata marks the Union government’s role in the city’s expanding infrastructure, Banerjee’s reminder seeks to reinforce her legacy as the original architect of the metro expansion drive.
The timing of her message, therefore, has sparked speculation of an indirect political contest over credit — between a Prime Minister inaugurating new projects and a Chief Minister highlighting that the foundation of these very projects was laid by her.
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