The Howrah Bridge spans the Hooghly River, linking Howrah to Kolkata, India. It was originally named the new Howrah Bridge because it links the city of Howrah to its twin city Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 June, 1965 it was renamed Rabindra Setu, after Rabindranath Tagore a great poet and the first Indian Nobel laureate. However, it is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge. The bridge is one of the four on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. The other bridges are the Vidyasagar Setu (popularly known as Second Hooghly Bridge), the Vivekananda Setu and the newly built engineering marvel Nivedita Setu. Apart from bearing the stormy weather of the Bay of Bengal region, the eight-lane bridge successfully bears the weight of a daily traffic of approximately 80,000 vehicles and possibly, more than 1,000,000 pedestrians. It is the sixth longest bridge of its type in the world.
Comments