বাংলায় পড়ুন
Howrah Bridge is a significant part of the beautiful past and present of Kolkata. Over 75 years of its existence, Howrah Bridge has become a part of the Kolkata’s cultural heritage and is one of India’s oldest landmarks. This bridge helps connect Kolkata with the industrial district of Howrah. On the eve of the Platinum Jubilee of the Howrah Bridge, we have listed a few astounding facts about the engineering marvel:
Prior to the Howrah Bridge, during the early 1900’s, a floating bridge existed to connect Howrah and Kolkata over the Hooghly River. However the bridge was not strong enough to handle the ever increasing traffic; which is why the Bengal government commissioned the Howrah Bridge.
The earlier history of the Howrah Bridge can be traced back to as early as 1871, through the ‘Howrah Bridge Act 1871’ which was passed by the Bengal Government to authorize the construction of the bridge. This Act of 1871 was replaced by the ‘Howrah Bridge Act of 1926’ commissioning the construction of the new bridge which we know as the ‘Howrah Bridge’. The Act of 1926 was subsequently amended in the years 1936 and 1959.
The Howrah Bridge does not have a single nut or bolt! It was built in its entirety using steel rivets while all the parts of the bridge have been firmly welded together.
The first vehicle to cross the Howrah Bridge was a tram! However the tram was discontinued from the bridge in the year 1993.
At the time of construction, the Howrah Bridge was the 3rd longest cantilever bridge in the world. Now it stands as the 6th longest bridge of its kind.
The Howrah Bridge was renamed as Rabindra Setu in the year 1965 to honor the Nobel Laureate. However, it is still more popularly known as the Howrah Bridge.
Tata Steel is intertwined in the legacy of the bridge as 23,000 tonnes out of the 26, 500 tonnes of steel used for the project was provided by Tata Steel.
The Howrah Bridge was constructed over a period of six years starting in the year 1936. The bridge was opened for public use after about a year of its completion!
Though the landscape of Kolkata has gone through a sea change over many years, but the Howrah Bridge still stands tall in all its glory. We take immense pride to be able to get this chance to wish the marvel of engineering a Happy Wala 75th Birthday.
