After metro railways, Kolkata may have another innovative first in the transport sector in the country with the West Bengal transport department planning to run trams along tunnels below the river Hooghly.‘‘We are visualising underground tram lines running below the hooghly to connect the two banks of the river,’’ state Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty said here today. The 3.5 km-long route, he said, would connect Howrah Maidan with the Kolkata Maidan.‘‘The total cost of this project will be less than Rs 300 crore, which is lower than the cost of constructing bridges to connect the two banks,’’ the minister pointed out.Meanwhile, government has already approved the Rs 3,000 crore for the 180 km four-lane ‘green corridor’ project from Kalyani in North 24 Parganas to Namkhana in South 24 Parganas, he said.The state government, he said, would soon sign an agreement with the Malaysian government for funding the project, the work for which work would start by December this year.There were also plans to gradually withdraw rickshaws and auto-rickshaws from some areas to avoid traffic congestion, he said, adding government would relocate some of the tram routes.
