By IANS,
Kolkata : President Pratibha Patil Wednesday arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule for laying the foundation stone for a Kolkata Metro railway project here, prompting Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to exhort her officers to ensure the scheme too was completed before time.
“The honourable president arrived at the venue of the function five minutes before schedule. Likewise, we should be ready to finish the Metro project before time,” Banerjee said.
Both the president and the railway minister were attending the ceremony for a new Metro line that would connect the southern outskirts of the city with the central hub.
The 16.72-km stretch being built at a cost of Rs.2,619.02 crore, will connect Joka in South 24-Parganas to Benoy Badal Dinesh Bagh in the city hub via Majherhat. Thirteen stations are scheduled to come up on the stretch.
Patil, who spoke after Banerjee, said she, in fact, came ten minutes early. “I find it heartening that the project will also be completed before the scheduled time,” Patil added.