India's first underwater metro tunnel in Kolkata to get ready by 2023

India's first underwater tunnel for metro connectivity in between Howrah and Kolkata is underway and will be fully functional by 2023, said officials. Of the 16.6-km-long east-west stretch, 520 metres will be under the river bed of Hooghly river.

The tunnel corridor is built 33 meters below the riverbed and will connect Kolkata to Howrah. The Kolkata East-West Metro line is being constructed by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRCL) and has the underwater tunnel that will go beneath the Hooghly river.

Speaking on the facilities and safety measures being provided in the project, Mithun Ghosh, the Site Supervisor said that there will be walkways in the tunnels for evacuation of passengers in case of emergency.

"Important Passage work has also been done keeping in mind that if a technical problem arises inside the water tunnel area, passengers can be taken out through the special passage," said Mithun.

He further said that almost 80 percent of the work of the East-west Howrah Metro station is completed and expected that the full-fledged service may start from 2023.