Vivekananda Setu ( Bally Bridge)

Arpan Mullick 15 months ago

One of the oldest multispan truss bridge in India, and the first to connect the district of Howrah with Calcutta, primarily to provide railway and roadway connectivity. She is older than Howrah bridge and still stands to the test. I use it for daily commute, after covid vehicles have increased so much that congestion is a routine thing in this route. Previously, it had much less traffic and was fun to cruise. Watching the high tide while standing over the bridge is a different kind of fun. Wish PWD had taken better care of the name plaque of the bridge, it lies covered in debris and garbage and is hardly visible unless you where it is. Hence, many people do not know the bridge by its original name, which is a shame. Btw, parking over the bridge especially in the evening have become a common thing and police authorities should take steps regarding that, as it really increases accident risk and vehicles cannot be traversed well especially during peak trafiic from and after evening.

suparna paul 13 months ago

It's is Bally bridge named Vivekananda Setu... It's connected Kolkata to howrah...it's beside Dakshineswar Tample and Nibedita setu..a good place for morning walk and evening walk..you can get sunrise and sunset view very nicely..But yes no car parking or bike parking is available there.

Ami Rajendran 15 months ago

Vivekananda Setu (also called Willingdon Bridge and Bally Bridge) is a bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. It links the city of Howrah, at Bally, to its twin city of Kolkata, at Dakshineswar. The Vivekananda Setu allows traffic movement upstream (Bally to Kolkata).

It is a multi-span steel bridge completed in December 1932 and was built (started in the year 1926) to provide road and rail link between the Calcutta Port and its hinterland. The bridge cost nearly over 1 crore in those years. It is 2,887 feet (880 m) long. The length of the bridge is almost a half-mile with 10 km approach roads on both sides. According to the nameplate on each girder of the bridge, the construction of the bridge was done by famous Kutchi-Mestri contractor and Industrialist Rai Bahadur Jagmal Raja Chauhan. However, the fabrication works of the bridge were done at works of Braithwaite & Company, Calcutta. The Bally Bridge was named Willingdon Bridge after Viceroy of India, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, who inaugurated it. The first train that ran across the bridge was named Jagmal Raja Howrah Express by the British, acknowledging the feat of Rai Bahadur Jagmal Raja.

In archives of History of Railway in India, this Railway bridge has a significant role as the Railway for the first time crossed over River Hooghly and reached Calcutta at Sealdah Terminus. The famous Dakshineswar Temple is situated on the banks of the Hooghly River near the Bally Bridge