Metro crosses Kidderpore stn hurdle, gets govt nod for Alipore Bodyguards Lines land

Kolkata: Metro Railway has finally crossed the Kidderpore station hurdle with the state issuing an NOC for land use at Alipore Bodyguard Lines on Thursday.

TOI has been reporting the uncertainties over the construction of the station at Kidderpore for the upcoming 14 km Joka-Esplanade line (which will extend by another 1.6 km to Eden Gardens). Even as work for the 5 km underground section was on in full swing for the last two years — with the TBMs ready to burrow and work for the other three underground stations (Victoria, Park Street, and Esplanade) underway — access to Kolkata Armed Police's Bodyguard Lines required for the underground station below Diamond Harbour Road was unavailable.

After more than three years, the state govt on Thursday finally informed Metro Railway, which operates the city's rapid transit network, that it didn't have any objection to the construction work inside the police barracks as long as certain conditions were adhered to.

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), implementing agency of Purple Line, will be handed over 837 sqm of land near Bodyguard Lines boundary wall for widening Diamond Harbour Road, shifting utilities and constructing ventilation shafts and fire and emergency exits.

RVNL will get another 1,702 sqm inside Bodyguard Lines for temporary use. "The land should be returned as soon as the work is completed, around three years from now," a state official said. Metro was told that the Dhobi Lines on the Bodyguard Lines premises should mostly remain out of the construction area. Officials said parts of the Dhobi Lines that will be relocated for safety should be restored to the original location soon after the construction.

TOI reported on June 6 that Metro Railway was being forced to drop the landmark station from the upcoming Joka-Esplanade corridor alignment, following a meeting of the project monitoring group (PMG) between Metro, RVNL and state officials. In the minutes of the meeting, the state noted, "The approval for this land is pending at the policy level. The user agency may consider making the line without the Kidderpore station, after consulting the ministry of railways."

Metro then wrote to the state that it was dropping Kidderpore station from the line's map. But things started to look up at a meeting convened at chief secretary Manoj Pant's chamber last on June 21, where the issues were revisited. Metro was asked to submit a fresh layout of the station.

The line currently runs an elevated 7.7 km from Joka to Majerhat. Construction of the last elevated station (Mominpore) has started.