Howrah Bridge Kolkata
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Howrah Bridge, Kolkata
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Howrah Bridge, Kolkata
The iconic landmark of Kolkata, Howrah Bridge is a massive steel structure which is considered as one of the longest cantilever bridges of its type in the world. Also called as Rabindra Setu, it extends across the Hooghly River and connects Howrah and Kolkata. It is also regarded as one of the busiest ones among them as it carries a daily traffic of over 100,000 vehicles and countless pedestrians. For those who wish to see the grandeur of the bridge, you are recommended an excellent ride in the ferry services between Kolkata and Howrah, offered from Launch Ghat. The view of the city from the ferry, especially in the night, is priceless, to say the least.
Howrah Bridge was the third longest cantilever bridge at the time of its construction, but now it is the sixth longest one of its types. It was renamed as Rabindra Setu on June 14, 1965, after the name of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It spreads about 1500 ft over the Hooghly River and is 71 ft wide. There is a total of 8 lanes of strand road, bicycles, and pedestrians. What makes this bridge unique is the fact that it was built without a single nut or bolt and is held together by rivets.
The Howrah Bridge has been shown in numerous movies since the 1950s like Do Bigha Zameen, China Town, Amar Prem, Parineeta, The Namesake, Love Aaj Kal, Barfi, Gunday and many others. You can walk across the bridge and admire the gigantic construction or glide underneath on a boat ride on the Hooghly River.
The Howrah Bridge serves as the lifeline of Kolkata. Its construction was undertaken in 1939. The Government of Bengal wanted to bridge over the Hooghly River and asked an engineer of the East India Company to come up with a proposal which never materialised. Sir Bradford Leslie built a pontoon bridge in 1874. However, it had to be redesigned to accommodate the increasing traffic across the Hooghly River. So, the Howrah Bridge was constructed in 1942. Because of this reason, it was named as the New Howrah Bridge. It took seven years to complete the construction and was finally opened to the public in February 1943. Sir Rajendra Nath Mukherjee was the chief engineer for the project. The steel for the bridge was supplied by Tata Steel.
The total cost of constructing the Howrah Bridge was INR 333 crore. 26,500 tons of steel was used in its construction. It was renamed as Rabindra Setu but is still popularly known as Howrah Bridge. The first vehicle to travel over the bridge was a solitary tram. The Howrah end of the bridge has the Howrah Junction Railway Station which is India's oldest railway station. The bridge is therefore also known as the gateway to Kolkata.
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