A day after Kolkata Municipal Rail Corporation (KMRC) triggered a row by reportedly not inviting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the inauguration of Sealdah Metro station, it sent out an invitation to the chief minister along with West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and other leaders on Sunday. KMRC had earlier announced that the Sealdah Metro station of the East-West Metro project would be inaugurated by Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday.
However, government sources said Banerjee is likely to skip the event as she is currently on a tour of districts.
On Saturday, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) had alleged that during her tenure as a railway minister, it was Banerjee who had approved the project, but the Centre was “deliberately inaugurating” the Metro station by “ignoring” the Chief Minister. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, rebuffed TMC’s allegations and said the Centre had been cooperating with the state government in all areas.
Earlier, Metro Railway spokesperson Ekalabya Chakraborty said, “Sealdah station of East-West Metro will be inaugurated on Monday and Union minister Smriti Irani has been invited to inaugurate it. Even if the minister is unable to make time, the inauguration will still be held on that day. The commercial services between Sector V in Salt Lake and Sealdah will start from July 14.”
The Sealdah Metro station will link suburban train services to and from Sealdah – one of the busiest terminal railway stations in the country – and ease commuting for those travelling to Salt Lake and Information Technology hub in Sector V. The East-West Metro project – that connects Howrah Maidan and Salt Lake – is currently partially operational with services operating between Sector V station and Phoolbagan.
Several houses developed cracks during the construction of the East-West Metro line at Bowbazar in central Kolkata in May 2022, nearly three years after a tunnel boring machine hit an aquifer on August 31, 2019. The incident led to severe ground subsidence and collapse of several buildings at Bowbazar.