123 Kolkata: Last-minute preparations were underway on Sunday as devotees and locals await the inauguration of the 440-m-long Kalighat skywalk. The city's longest skywalk will connect SP Mukherjee Road to the Kalighat temple and will be inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday evening, the eve of Poila Baisakh.
Police conducted last-minute checks inside the skywalk, using metal detectors and sniffer dogs to ensure there was no security loophole. KMC officials also supervised the last-minute arrangements, including setting up a grand stage from where the chief minister will inaugurate the structure.
"It is a great step and will definitely add to the attraction for tourists. Not only will it help devotees directly enter the temple premises from the main road, it will also help keep the temple road free from pedestrian and vehicular traffic conflict. The structure of the skywalk is also majestic," said Subhas Mondal, a local.
"Entering Kalighat temple from SP Mukherjee Road and other main roads will be much easier for devotees as they will no longer have to walk on the busy and congested temple road stretch. The skywalk has brought more grandeur to the place as well," said Tarun Banerjee, another local.
"The skywalk will immensely benefit people and devotees visiting the temple. The place will become much more vibrant," said Tararani Naskar, a devotee from Jadavpur who visited the temple on Sunday.
A priest of Kalighat temple said: "Devotees will be able to directly enter the temple, avoiding the traffic chaos on the road below."
Several owners of the stores along the temple road, who have been doing business there for decades, said that the road will now become cleaner, and vehicles will be able to move more freely. "Overall, the place will get a cleaner and traffic-free look," said Kajol Biswas, a store operator.
Even those coming from outside the city, from the districts, were impressed by the skywalk. "I came with my mother-in-law from Jalpaiguri and thought of visiting Kalighat temple on Sunday. The skywalk will definitely help in improving traffic and will benefit temple devotees as a whole, as so many people come to this place," said Miltun Biswas.