Howrah Bridge is a landmark of the city of Kolkata.
It has seen several major historical events (including World War II) over the last century.
Also, it's associated with numerous stories, most of which are quite intriguing.
Howrah Bridge is inarguably the first thing along with Victoria Memorial and Durga Puja that comes to our mind when we think about Kolkata - the City of Joy. Also known as Rabindra Setu, it connects the two cities Howrah and Kolkata, and carries more than 100,000 vehicles every day. It's precisely a cantilever bridge over the majestic Hooghly River and is considered the best of its kind in India.
The bridge is 705 meters in length, 97 feet in width, and 82 meters in height. Also, it bears two 15 feet footpaths on both sides.
As already mentioned, Howrah Bridge holds many interesting facts. In this article, we will talk about some of them.
It dates back to 1871
The Howrah Bridge Act was passed in the year 1871 by the Legislative department of the then Government of Bengal. A pontoon bridge was constructed over the Hooghly River, which had a very limited load-carrying capacity. Therefore, the Howrah Bridge Act was amended in 1935 to build a new bridge at the same place. The construction began in 1936 and got completed in 5 years.
It does not have nuts and bolts
Surprising as it may sound, Howrah Bridge was constructed without the use of any nut or bolt. It took 26,500 tons of steel to build the entire structure, out of which 23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel (Tiscrom) were supplied by Tata Steel. At that time, it was the 3rd longest cantilever bridge in the entire world. Now, it stands as the sixth-longest bridge of its kind in the world.
It has been featured in several Bollywood films
Howrah Bridge comes atop the list when a Bollywood filmmaker wants to capture the landmarks of Kolkata in his/her films. As a result, this iconic bridge has been featured time and again in many Hindi films over the years. The Shakti Samanta directorial film ‘Howrah Bridge' had numerous scenes shot here. Guru Dutt's cult-classic film 'Pyasaa' also offers us some incredible shots of the grandeur of Howrah Bridge. The list also includes 'Khamoshi', 'Do Bigha Zameen', 'Amar Prem', 'Yuva', 'Kahaani', 'Barfi', 'Meri Pyaari Bindu', 'Gundey', 'Parineeta', and more.
So, on your trip to Kolkata, do make sure to visit Howrah Bridge and also click some amazing photos of the surrounding areas from up there.
