pic source - www.google.co.in
If anyone mentions about kolkata the first thing that comes to mind is Howrah Bridge. The construction of this bridge was completed in 1942 under the rule.of British east India company in bengal. But unfortunately this mighty structure havn't got a grand opening and was not even highlighted due to fear of attacks by Japanese planes fighting the allied powers ; and already pearl harbour was attacked in 1941 ; the final stage of the second world war.
This is the picture of the bridge from during 1940s and in 2017 the iconic structure completes 75 years of its existence.
on june 14th ,1965 after 18 years of Independence of India from british rule howrah bridge was renamed Rabindra setu after the noble prize winner great bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.
The first transport which made the journey across the newly opened bridge was a tram and not a car or bullock.But as load and transport increased the use of trams were discontinued from 1993.
Howrah bridge is a cantilever bridge which doesn't have any bolts and nuts.This unique bridge was build by riveting the whole structure i.e., a metal piece (rivet) that is used to connect 2 or more plates inserted through the hole inside the plates and pressed on the other side.
Bird droppings and human spitting causes corrosion to the bridge for which the Kolkata port trust expenses Rs.5 lakh for cleaning it every year.The bridge was painted at a cost of 6.5 billion which required 26,500 litred of paint.More than 23000 ton of steel was consumed in the construction of the bridge.
It carries a traffic of approximately 1 lakh vehicles and more than 1.5 lakh pedestarian daily which made this bridge one of the busiest cantilever bridge in the world. At the time of its construction it ranked 3rd and now it stands in 6th position.
Nowadays the bridge is featured in many Indian movies and also is one of the monuments in kolkata. Despite of the history behind and the untold tale which is unbelievable about the construction it is not noted in the wonders of the world.
