Howrah Bridge, Kolkata Overview

The iconic landmark of kolkata, Howrah Bridge is a massive steel structure which is considered as one of the longest cantilever bridges of its type in the world. Also called as Rabindra Setu, it extends across the Hooghly River and connects Howrah and Kolkata. It is also regarded as one of the busiest ones among them as it carries a daily traffic of over 100,000 vehicles and countless pedestrians. For those who wish to see the grandeur of the bridge, you are recommended an excellent ride in the ferry services between Kolkata and Howrah, offered from Launch Ghat. The view of the city from the ferry, especially in the night, is priceless, to say the least. 
Howrah Bridge was the third longest cantilever bridge at the time of its construction, but now it is the sixth longest one of its types. It was renamed as Rabindra Setu on June 14, 1965, after the name of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

History of Howrah Bridge

The Howrah Bridge serves as the lifeline of Kolkata. Its construction was undertaken in 1939. The Government of Bengal wanted to bridge over the Hooghly River and asked an engineer of the East India Company to come up with a proposal which never materialised. Sir Bradford Leslie built a pontoon bridge in 1874. However, it had to be redesigned to accommodate the increasing traffic across the Hooghly River. So, the Howrah Bridge was constructed in 1942. Because of this reason, it was named as the New Howrah Bridge. It took seven years to complete the construction and was finally opened to the public in February 1943. Sir Rajendra Nath Mukherjee was the chief engineer for the project. The Steel for the bridge was supplied by Tata Steel. 

The total cost of constructing the Howrah Bridge was INR 333 crore. 26,500 tons of steel was used in its construction. It was renamed as Rabindra Setu but is still popularly known as Howrah Bridge. The first vehicle to travel over the bridge was a solitary tram. The Howrah end of the bridge has the Howrah Junction Railway Station which is India's oldest railway station. The bridge is therefore also known as the gateway to Kolkata.  

Construction of Howrah Bridge

The bridge was designed by Rendel, Palmer, and Tritton and was constructed by The Braithwaite Burn and Jessop Construction Company Ltd. The construction began in 1936 and ended in 1942. The bridge was opened on 3rd February 1943. The length of each pillar of the bridge is 468 feet, and the anchor arm is 325 feet. It carries almost the entire traffic to and from the Howrah Junction Railway Station. The bulk of this traffic comes from cars and buses. The bridge carries much more than the expected load. It is flanked by broad footpaths and is thus swarmed by pedestrians. 

The Howrah Bridge is maintained by the Kolkata Port Trust. The bridge has undergone considerable damage by vehicles due to rash driving and corrosion due to atmospheric conditions. Corrosion has also been caused by bird droppings and human spitting. The Kolkata Port Trust has taken the responsibility of cleaning it on a regular basis. 

  

Howrah Bridge In Movies

The Howrah Bridge is of great cultural significance, standing as the major landmark in the city of Kolkata. It is synonymous with this majestic city and the magnificence of this bridge has inspired numerous filmmakers to showcase it in their movies. The Howrah Bridge featured in movies like Do Bigha Zamin, Parash Pathar, Neel Akasher Neechey, China Town, Amar Prem, Paar and Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Shakti Samanta made a movie called Howrah Bridge which had the famous song Mera Nam Chin Chin Chu. This iconic bridge has also been featured in several award-winning movies including Mrinal Sen's National Award winning Bengali movie Calcutta 71 and Richard Attenborough's Academy Award winning film Gandhi. 

In the more recent times, Howrah Bridge was showcased in movies like Yuva, Parineeta, The Namesake, Love Aaj Kal, Kahaani, Barfi!, Gunday and Piku. It also featured in the 2016 Academy Award nominated film Lion.