Kolkata, Jan 11 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated an interactive light and sound show at the iconic Howrah Bridge -- Rabindra Setu -- through a glittering programme held in the picturesque Millenium Park on the banks of the Hooghly.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Minister of Shipping (independent charge) Mansukh Mandaviya were among those who attended the function.
The 150-second show and sound is part of the various initiatives taken to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Kolkata Port Trust.
The British era Howrah Bridge, which serves as a crucial gateway to the city, ferrying one lakh-plus vehicles and over 1.5 lakh pedestrians daily, was thrown open to the public on February 3, 1943, replacing a pontoon bridge linking Kolkata and Howrah.
The steel colossus -- christened Rabindra Setu in 1965 after one of
Kolkata's greatest sons, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore -- has become a symbol of the city over the decades, connecting the bustling eastern metropolis with the terminal Howrah station over the Hooghly river - a distributory of the Ganga.
The cantilever bridge, where not a single nut or bolt was used, is now the sixth largest bridge of its kind in the globe.