CM to gift city Kalighat skywalk a day ahead of Poila Baisakh
Times of India | 13 April 2025
123456 Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials engaged in the construction of the Kalighat Skywalk, the city's longest skywalk that connects SP Mukherjee Road to Kalighat temple, are working overtime to ensure that the architectural marvel is ready for inauguration on Monday, a day ahead of Poila Baisakh. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to offer a prayer at Kalighat temple on Monday evening after inaugurating the 440m long, 16m high skywalk.
A KMC official overseeing the project on Saturday told TOI that work was completed, and the civic body was giving finishing touches, including last-minute painting of some parts of the superstructure and cleaning Kali Temple Road of debris and hawker encroachment. "We are now fully prepared for the inauguration. Our officials, however, are not taking chances, and they are working extra time to ensure that the grand structure doesn't have any shortcomings that might be detected at the eleventh hour," said the civic official. A KMC official said a delay in fixing the date for the inauguration had given the civic team time to add ‘Kalighat Patachitra' to give the skywalk a special identity.
Several roads in and around Kalighat temple, including Kali Temple Road, Sadananda Road, and Gurupada Halder Road, were reconstructed as these roads were damaged due to the piling work of the skywalk. Merely repairing them would not have been sufficient. According to a KMC official, in Dec 2023, the state approved Rs 5.3 crore for the reconstruction of the roads and the pavements. Though the original estimate for the construction of the skywalk was Rs 80 crore, delays in different phases of construction pushed the final cost to Rs 100 crore, said a civic official.
Rehabilitation of hawkers who were removed from Kali Temple Road and finding space for car parking near the temple have kept the KMC officials and cops busy in the past few weeks. "We have conducted a survey of Kalighat Temple Road, Kalighat Road, and the adjoining areas to earmark parking space for visitors who come from across the country," said a KMC official.
Work on the skywalk started in 2021 after a two-year delay. The project thereafter missed several deadlines. Trinamool councillor of the area, Prabir Mukherjee, said an appeal was being made to the hawkers in the area not to encroach upon the approach road. "Devotees from across the country, as well as foreigners, visit the temple. We appeal to hawkers to keep their wares within the space allotted to them and ensure their stalls don't encroach the road," said the KMC official.