Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday is likely to inaugurate a number of infrastructure projects in Kolkata including three new metro railway routes. Though invited, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to attend the programme, State sources said.
Among the inauguration of the metro routes are a newly constructed 13.6 km service, linking Noapara and Jai Hind Bimanbandar (Airport), Sealdah-Esplanade and Beleghata-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay stations “boosting interchange (with other metro routes) and cutting travel time,” the Kolkata Metro Railway authorities said.
The Prime Minister is also likely to take a ride from Jessore Road Station, sources said adding however that programmes might change on account of the heavy rain forecast for the coming few days.
The Prime Minister is also likely to inaugurate a newly constructed subway at Howrah Metro Station and lay the foundation stone of a 7.2 km stretch of Kona Expressway — and elevated corridor worth `1,200 crore.
Meanwhile, chances are high that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata would skip the prime ministerial programme, senior officials of the State Government said.
The Chief Minister’s decision not to attend the Railway programme was in protest against the alleged harassment of migrant workers from Bengal in various North Indian states.
A senior official earlier said “there have been charges of linguistic discrimination and the harassment of the Bengalis in several states, with the alleged support of the BJP and the central government. Protests are underway to oppose such discriminatory treatment being meted out to Bengali migrants. In such a situation, the Chief Minister does not wish to share the stage with officials from the central government.”
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had earlier sent a letter to the Chief Minister inviting her to the Friday’s programme.
The letter contained among other things a detailed report of the
infrastructural initiatives taken by the Railway Ministry in Bengal and a list of projects that were presently stuck up on account of non-availability of land from the State.