Kalighat Temple skywalk work to be started after 15 August
#Kolkata: Finally, after 15th August, the Calcutta Municipality is starting the construction of Kalighat Temple Skywalk at the entrance of Kalighat Temple. Earlier, 184 Hawkers Corner shopkeepers will move to the temporary market in Hazra Park at the entrance to the temple by July 30. The announcement was made by Firhad Hakim, Chief Administrator and Transport Minister of Kolkata Municipality, while standing in Hazra Park after a discussion with the representatives of the shopkeepers on Saturday.
In his words, “After the committee of hawkers conducted the lottery, 154 shopkeepers have already taken position of stalls in the temporary market. I hope the remaining 20 will take up the position soon. The municipality will pay Rs 10,000 per hawker stall for relocating the shop. ” The chief executive also announced that work on the skywalk would begin 15 days after the hawkers left by July 30.
The hawkers, however, demanded that Pujo be allowed to sit in the old market this time. But the chief administrator said efforts were being made to complete the work on that part of the skywalk and turn it into a shopping mall-style hawkers’ corner before Pujo next year. The minister said the municipality would spread the word about the temporary market at Hazra Park across South Kolkata. On the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a similar design ‘sky path’ is being constructed in Kalighat in the style of Dakshineswar’s Skywalk. The initial cost of the 350-meter-long Skywalk has been estimated at Tk 100 crore.
After Ritesh completed the design and other work on the project, construction of the Skywalk is now awaited. The shopkeepers adjacent to the Kalighat temple have been removed and addressed in the adjoining attic. This time the hawkers corner of the entrance and the hawkers of the sidewalk are the cause of the headache of the municipality and the administration. Although the Hawkers Corner shopkeepers have set up a temporary market in Hazra Park, the relocation has been hampered by the dissatisfaction of a few hawkers.