বাংলায় পড়ুন
The underwater tunneling work under the Hoogly river to provide connectivity between Kolkata and Howrah was completed on 23rd June. Two top-order tunnel boring machines, nicknamed Rachna and Prerna, dug India's first ever under-the-river Metro tunnels in Kolkata.
The tunnel borers 'Rachna' and ‘Prerna’ (named after the daughters of a project officer who died in a road accident), were brought from Germany in parts and assembled underground.
This was another rare feat achieved by Kolkata after getting the first metro railway in the country in 1984.
"It is a huge challenge," said Satish Kumar, (Managing Director of the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited).
"The soft soil was an issue. Cutting through rock is less complicated…There have been water leakages in projects abroad, which slowed them down. We don't want any leakages," he added.
