Kolkata: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday inaugurated the much-awaited six kilometre expanded stretch of the city's Metro railway from Tollygunge to Garia bazaar in the southern fringes.
"Metro railway is the pride of the city. I had announced the expansion in 1999. It's great that I have been able to inaugurate it myself," Banerjee said at the programme.
She also renamed the existing Tollygunge Metro station after late Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar, while the Garia Bazar section was renamed after noted Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
The Garia Bazar and Tollygunge section has three new stations - at Kudhghat, Naktala and Bansdroni.
West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee graced the occasion along with a galaxy of representatives from the Bengali film industry such as veteran actor and Uttam Kumar's consort Supriya Devi, actor Prasenjit, Koel Mallik, Ranjit Mallik and danseuse Amala Shankar.
Speaking on the occasion, Gandhi congratulated Banerjee for extending the Metro route and disclosed that he came to the function riding the Metro from Esplanade in the city's hub.
"Mamata has done a great job by naming Tollygunge station after Uttam Kumar," said Mukherjee.
With the expansion, the 22.50 km distance between Garia Bazaar (the southern-most Metro station) and Dumdum (the last station located in the city's extreme northern fringes) would be covered in just 41 minutes.
The expansion will benefit city commuters residing in the southern fringes. Commuters will be able to avail of the Metro on the extended route from Sunday.
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