As Kolkata prepared for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival to inaugurate three new metro lines, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee turned reflective on Friday, recalling her personal involvement in the city’s metro expansion across decades.
Taking to social media, Banerjee described her long association with the project, beginning with her tenure as Railway Minister. “Allow me to be a little nostalgic today. As the Railways Minister of India, I was fortunate in planning and sanctioning series of Metro Railway corridors in metropolitan Kolkata. I had drawn the blueprints, arranged the funds, initiated the works and ensured that the different ends of the city (Joka, Garia, Airport, Sector V, etc.) were connected by an intra-city Metro grid,” she wrote on X.
Banerjee noted that her contribution did not end with the planning phase. “Later, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, I had the additional privilege of taking part in execution of the projects. From the State, I arranged free land, paved roads, arranged rehabilitation of displaced people, removed impediments, and ensured all help in the execution of projects,” she said.
Also read: PM inaugurates three new metro corridors in Kolkata
She further emphasised the state administration’s role in smoothing the process. “Our chief secretaries successively held series of coordination meeting to ensure integration of execution agencies. My planning as Railways Minister got fulfillment in my participation in execution,” she remarked.
For Banerjee, the metro’s growth is not merely an infrastructure project but a personal milestone. “Expanding Metro infrastructure has been a long journey for me. Allow me some nostalgia today,” she concluded.
Her statement came just hours before Modi’s visit, underscoring the political and personal symbolism attached to the unveiling of Kolkata’s newest metro corridors, including its first airport link.
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