Kolkata: Work starts on 2 Metro station gates

KOLKATA: Construction of the fourth access points to two of the stations of New Garia-Airport Metro's 5km Ruby segment has finally started.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), implementing agency of the 32km New Garia-Airport Metro corridor, is chasing an October deadline to open Phase 1, the 5km stretch from New Garia to Ruby crossing. But the fourth access points in two of the five stations along the section to be launched haven't come up yet. While the procedural delays in shifting the CESC cable came in the way of building the access point "A" of Hemanta Mukherjee Metro station at Ruby crossing, encroachment was the hurdle for entry structure "D" of Kavi Sukanta Metro station at Avishikta crossing. Unable to shift the 15 shanties at the EM Bypass-Kalikapur crossing, RVNL has changed the entrance "D" layout.
Piling work to build entrance "D", with its amended design, a 3m area has been barricaded to facilitate the construction. As per the new design, the access structure will eat 1.5metre on an average into the road space of the EM Bypass-Kalikapur crossing. Had the shanties been removed, it would have been comfortably accommodated on the pavement on the left side of the Garia-bound flank of EM Bypass.
RVNL has created a 4.5m by 200m road space on the right side of EM Bypass' Garia-bound flank at the crossing. The space was originally reserved for landscaping and beautification.
For the Hemanta Mukherjee station's fourth entrance, Kolkata Police granted RVNL the permission to block the service road that leads to the Kasba bus depot.