Bengal BJP’s infra push: Deep sea port, 4-lane bridge over Mayurakshi, small towns metros

The West Bengal government has announced a host of key infrastructural projects in its maiden budget proposal, including constructing a four-lane bridge over the Mayurakshi river, an elevated corridor connecting Chingrighata to New Town in Kolkata, as well as undertaking a techno-economic feasibility study for metro-link between Durgapur-Asansol and Siliguri-Jalpaiguri, among several others, which have the potential to transform the state’s landscape.

Deep sea port at Dandanpatrabarh

The state government has highlighted in its budget that the existing ports of Haldia and Kolkata suffer from low draft and high turnaround time and hence there is a need to construct a strategic deep-sea port.

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The government has hence planned to develop a deep sea port at Dandanpatrabarh in Purba Medinipur District through PPP model which will have an integrated port estate for cargo handling, storage and ancillary industries, multimodal dedicated road or rail connectivity.

Bhagirathi Major Bridge

The government has also announced the ‘Bhagirathi Major Bridge’ connecting Kalna and Santipur at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore, which is expected to give a boost to trade and socio-economic growth in the area.

Chingrighata-New Town elevated corridor

The Suvendu Adhikari government has also proposed the construction of a 7.41 km long Chingrighata-New Town elevated corridor linking EM Bypass to Salt Lake Sector V at a estimated cost of Rs 900 crore. The corridor is slated to have ramps, elevated parking base, noise barriers, bridge health monitoring system and CCTV surveillance.

Road Corridor Project between Dankuni, Mogra

The government has also planned a 35 km Road Corridor Project between Dankuni Junction and Mogra in the Hoogly district at an approximate cost of Rs 1,850 crore.

4-lane bridge over Mayurakshi

It has been proposed to construct of a new four-lane bridge over Mayurakshi river on NH14 including four-lane bridge over the Right Bank Main Canal (RBMC) and Left Bank Main Canal (LBMC) in Birbhum at a cost of Rs 800 crore.

Metro-links at Durgapur-Asansol

The government has planned to conduct a techno-economic feasibility study for metro-link between Durgapur-Asansol and Siliguri-Jalpaiguri.

Rs 100 crore for Bhagirathi, Hooghly rivers

The state government has proposed a budgetary allocation of Rs 100 crore for the Bhagirathi and Hooghly rivers flowing across central and south Bengal, to improve jetties, provide link roads between the jetties and the rural markets, improvement of these markets, and fisheries in the adjoining areas.

Pontoon-based jetties in Sundarbans

The government has pointed out that since the use of waterways is the most sustainable option to reach out to the remote islands of Sundarbans, it has proposed to provide a budgetary support of Rs 100 crore for construction of pontoon-based jetties and related infrastructure to improve connectivity.

Moreover, solar operated boats with low carbon footprints will also be promoted for carrying goods and passengers.

Ro-Ro terminals at Shalimar-Garden Reach stretch

The government has also proposed to build Ro-Ro terminals at Shalimar-Garden Reach stretch to reduce traffic pressures on Vidyasagar Setu and arterial roads in both Kolkata and Howrah.

Minor ports

The budget has pointed out that Bengal has the potential to develop several minor ports including Kulpi, as they play an important role in transportation of cargo and passengers, support fishing activities and facilitate regional trade.

The government has proposed an allocation of Rs 100 crore for improvement of infrastructure in these minor ports in the form of passenger jetties, cargo handling terminals, evacuation mechanisms, public amenities, approach roads and other related infrastructure.

In addition to these, the state government has also proposed the revival of the Calcutta Stock Exchange, allocation of Rs 1,200 crore for the Ghatal Master Plan, a flood management project for the Medinipur region,  a semiconductor manufacturing unit in Durgapur, and an IT park in Siliguri.