Obstructed by the state government’s refusal to allow part of land at Bodyguard Lines, the remaining leg of the Purple Line of the city Metro is to proceed without the Kidderpore Metro station.
The project spanning over a stretch of around 18km, including the extended ends of the Eden Gardens on one end and IIM Joka on the other, was faced with uncertainty when the state government declined the proposal of letting 837 square metre of land at Bodyguard Lines to the Metro railway.
The implementing agency of the project, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is carrying works on the launching shaft at St Thomas School in full swing while major parts of the works at the next station near Victoria Memorial have also been completed. However, following communication from the state government declining to let the required land, the 3.5 km stretch of the Purple Line between Mominpore and Victoria Memorial is now to proceed by skipping the station at Kidderpore.
The Kolkata Metro Railway authorities have written a letter to the state chief secretary informing the state government about the decision of skipping the Metro station at Kidderpore. Ideally, the distance between the two Metro stations is to be around 1.5 km. A long stretch of around 3.5km was being thought of as a hurdle in the path of the project. “We have decided to proceed with the project by skipping the Kidderpore station and going ahead with Victoria station,” informed a senior official of the city Metro. Regarding the long stretch between the Mominpore and Victoria, he said: “The Metro network would be taken ahead as it was done in the case of Phoolbagan and Sealdah, which is also around 2.5km. Midway, arrangements would be made for an evacuation shaft that could be used during an emergency,” he added.
Around 7.7 km of the Purple Line is operational between Joka and Majerhat. The original route included an 8.8km underground Metro, having four stations namely Kidderpore, Victoria, Park Street and Esplanade. The news of the Metro station being skipped has come as a setback to the local residents of Kidderpore. The locals along with the traders of Kidderpore Market are demanding the original route with the Metro station in the area.