At the busy Chingrighata intersection, three pillars (317, 318, 319) stand prominently along one of Kolkata’s most congested corridors. These concrete structures are meant to carry the metro viaduct that will connect the southern suburbs with the IT hub of Salt Lake Sector V.
These pillars, spanning a 366m stretch, have effectively become the missing link of the 29.8km Orange Line (Line 6). While Metro services are currently operational from Kavi Subhash (New Garia) up to Beleghata (Hemanta Mukhopadhyay), which is short of 10km from the airport, the corridor cannot extend to Sector V because of the incomplete stretch at Chingrighata.
“Every time I pass this junction, I just look at the pillars and wonder when they will finally be connected. The wait seems never-ending,” said Shalini Chakraborty, who lives within one kilometre of the intersection.
For those working in the IT hub, the gap represents more than just unfinished construction.
“These pillars have become more than just infrastructure for commuters like us who cross the busy signals of Chingrighata daily. It is frustrating that this gap is the only factor preventing a seamless journey from Kavi Subhash to Sector V,” said Sector V employee Phalguni Chakladar, a resident of South Kolkata.
According to traffic personnel, Chingrighata is one of the city’s most high-activity zones, carrying heavy traffic from the IT hub towards south Kolkata as well as the airport. The jurisdictional split adds further to the complexity as one side falls under the Bidhannagar Traffic Police while the other is under the Kolkata Police.
“Managing fast-moving traffic from the flyover along with pedestrian movement at ground level makes it more difficult,” said a traffic personnel on condition of anonymity.
“The main diversion has to be implemented by Kolkata Police. Nothing is impossible, but the project has remained in limbo because of some conflict between the state and the Centre,” he added.
Another traffic official said some infrastructural adjustments could address the problem. “Even an underpass or a 100m diversion connecting to the main road could help resolve the issue,” the official said.
The Orange Line, once fully operational, is expected to significantly cut down travel time between south Kolkata and the airport by about 50-60 minutes. The 29.8-km route, connecting Kavi Subhash to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport through New Town, is expected in 2026.
“Initially we were aiming for completion by June 2026. But even December 2026 now looks difficult, even if we receive the NOC soon, because the monsoon season is approaching,” said a metro official.
The delay has also triggered a sparring between ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the BJP claims funds are available and accuse the state government of stalling progress, the government has cited safety concerns and demands a permanent pedestrian underpass before metro work.
The Calcutta High Court had earlier fixed February 15, 2026 as the deadline for completing the project. However, the order was challenged in the Supreme Court, with authorities saying that implementing night-time traffic blocks during major events such as the Ganga Sagar Mela would not be feasible.
“For metro construction, this time of the year is the most suitable. However, the entire season was wasted because the matter was in court. Once the monsoon begins, work cannot continue, so the next window to expedite things up will be winter,” said a construction staff member.
Earlier, the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) had built a 600m diversion road at its own cost to show that traffic could be managed during construction. However, the traffic department maintains that without a permanent pedestrian underpass, the area, already considered an accident-prone “black spot” could become a “death trap”.
“We constructed a diversion road and it has been operational for several months,” said a Kolkata Metro official.
Kolkata Metro’s Chief Public Relations Officer S S Kannan said the Chingrighata stretch remains the only bottleneck in completing the metro corridor. “Chingrighata is the only bottleneck in the completion of the Orange Line. We are still waiting for the NOC from Kolkata Traffic Police,” he said.
Another metro official said that connecting the stretch requires a complete traffic block at night.
“For that, Kolkata Police has to give NOC. The state government will have to take a call. As far as the demand for a pedestrian underpass is concerned, that is a recent development and was not part of the original project plan,” the official said.
Some experts believe the delay might have been avoided with a different engineering approach. According to them, if steel girders had been used as a special span instead of segmental box girders at Chingrighata, metro operations could have started up to Salt Lake Sector V without waiting for this stretch. They also pointed out that cities such as Kanpur and Agra have adopted pre-cast construction techniques to minimise long traffic disruptions.
Once these three pillars are finally connected, the 4.4km stretch between Beleghata and Sector V will open, bringing the 29.87km corridor closer to completion and linking it to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport.
However, as of March 2026, the unfinished pillars remain a visible reminder of the last stumbling block to connecting south Kolkata with Sector V. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently highlighted a record railway allocation of Rs 2.78 lakh crore and noted that 45km of metro infrastructure has been built in Kolkata over the last 11 years. He also said that the pace of such projects often depends on land availability and cooperation from state authorities.