New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday rejected the Railways' request for land for the expansion of a metro line, saying she would never permit the demolition of the skywalk that connects the famed Dakshineswar temple to the station, reported news agency PTI.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) in a letter to the state government in November last year sought permission for clearing and shifting various existing structural utilities such as parts of the skywalk for the proposed extension of the metro viaduct beyond the Daksineswar station, which was commissioned in 2021.
Addressing a presser, CM Banerjee said, "They talk about religion and used to accuse me saying that I don't allow Durga Puja in the state. Now they want to demolish the Dakshineswar skywalk. This is their true nature. But I want to say this clearly, I will never allow the removal of that structure. I won't allow anyone to touch it."
"Dakshineswar Skywalk is my dream project, and as long as I'm alive, I won't let anyone lay a finger on it. We are ready to cooperate with the railways. But if they try to demolish our heritage, then I won't allow it," she added.
The Bengal CM also cited the demand for land by the Railway at the Alipore Body Guard Lines for the Joka-Esplanade Metro project.
As per PTI report, CM Banerjee said that despite the railways sending the letter to the state government on November 20, she came to know about it recently through a news report. She directed officials to promptly bring such letters to her notice in the future.
Notably, the RVNL made the proposal to the state government after the Metro Railway Kolkata asked for an extension of the viaduct to get adequate signal overlap, which will allow smoother operation of trains between Dum Dum and Dakshineswar, which is a part of the North-South line.