New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- BJP's West Bengal unit president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya has written to Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar, seeking consideration for a Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) network for the state.
In his letter, Bhattacharya proposed four RRTS corridors radiating from Kolkata to connect the metropolis with industrial, religious, educational and port hubs in the state, party officials said on Saturday.
The proposed corridors are Kolkata-Kalyani-Krishnanagar-Mayapur (135 km), Kolkata-Bardhaman-Durgapur-Asansol (232 km), Kolkata-Falta-Diamond Harbour-Haldia-Nandigram (102 km), and Kolkata-Santragachi-Kolaghat-Kharagpur-Medinipur (135 km), according to the letter.
Bhattacharya said the state's urban geography remained heavily centred on Kolkata, even as secondary cities such as Durgapur, Asansol, Kharagpur and Haldia had grown into significant industrial, educational, port or tourism hubs.
Connectivity between these centres depends on conventional railways and highways that are congested and ill-suited to high-frequency commuter travel, he said, adding that an RRTS network, on the lines of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation's Namo Bharat corridors, could address the gap through metro-like, high-speed regional connectivity.
The proposal recommends setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle, the West Bengal Rapid Transit Corporation, on the lines of the NCRTC, with joint ownership between the central and state governments, to take the project forward.
Bhattacharya requested the ministry to examine the proposal and, if found suitable, direct a detailed feasibility study covering engineering, demand forecasting and financial analysis in coordination with the West Bengal government.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.