THE LITTLE ‘BIG BEN’ TO BE INAUGURATED IN KOLKATA TODAY

By Soumya Dasgupta (TNI Kolkata) ~ Edited By R. Subrata (TNI Siliguri)

Webdesk, TNI Kolkata, 16th October, 2015: The London to Kolkata dream had been interpreted by many as a joke but there is certain similarity that was addressed which isn’t visible to the natives of West Bengal. A small peek into the history books says that Kolkata was British Colonial Headquarters. The Viceroy House, Victoria Memorial, Writers building etc., the most remarkable monuments of the state is the reminiscent of the British Raj. Kolkata and London being situated on the banks of rivers, they also share a same ecological similarity as well. Now a cousin of Big Ben is here in Kolkata. Oh, yes, the most viewed architecture of the world, which adorned the Westminster Abbey, has her twin in Kolkata now.

While the stone was laid for the work on the 14th of December 2014, by Sujit Bose, the member of the board of administration of the South Dum Dum Municipality, it had taken around over 2.5 lakhs man-hours to put up this masterpiece, which is now added to the list of “Must Do Cynosures of Kolkata”. With extra care to replicate the Big-Ben, the agency, which had been handed this project, left no stones unturned to simulate the exact London structure with utmost care and the most intricate details. The Kolkata Big Ben which is yet to be christened has a height of 135 feets with 80 feet of super-steel structure under the soil to compliment it occupies an area of over 900 square feets and employs over a kilometer of LEDs on throughout. The watch tower has 4 clocks facing the four customary directions with each watch having a diameter of 11 feets, the clock being outsourced to the oldest watch manufacturers of Kolkata, the T.R. Clock Company.

With a budget of 10 million Rupees, the superstructure employs a special class of material, known as Fibre Reinforced Polymer, also abbreviated as F.R.P and has been cast into multiple pieces of 5×2 feets that have been put intricately throughout. While the South Dumdum Municipality has taken on the dream project head on, this is just a least compliment to say that this clock tower, which has been built in just 9 months has been one of the most beautiful mega structures that the people of Kolkata would be proud for many years to come is due to be inaugurated on the 17th of October 2015, by the chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself. While this serves to be the best puja gift for the people of the City of Joy.

Photos: Soumya Dasgupta (TNI)