This entire bridge rests only on two pillars 280 feet high built on both sides of the river. The distance between these two pillars is one and a half thousand feet. Apart from this, there is no pillar in the river to support the bridge.
Howrah Bridge: Although there are many bridges in India and countries around the world, but many of these bridges are such that they have a different identity in the world for some special thing. Some bridges are also called the pride of our country. One such bridge is also in our country India. This bridge is famous not only in the country but also in the world. The surprising thing is that the world famous bridge has not been inaugurated till date. There are many interesting things related to this bridge, which we will tell you today through this article.
Nothing went wrong even after the bomb fell
Actually, we are talking about Howrah Bridge of Kolkata, this bridge has always been the identity of Kolkata. It has been almost 80 years since the Howrah Bridge was built. But, even today it stands as it is. Even during World War II, in December 1942, a Japanese bomb fell at a short distance from this bridge, but even then the hair of this bridge did not budge.
This plan was made so that the movement of ships does not stop
According to a BBC report, in the last decades of the nineteenth century, the British India government planned to build a floating bridge over the Hooghly River that flows between Kolkata and Howrah. In fact, during that period, many ships used to come and go daily in the Hooghly River and the bridge with pillars could cause obstruction in the movement of these ships, so in 1871 the Howrah Bridge Act was passed.
The construction work of Howrah Bridge started in the year 1936 and was completed in 1942. After that, on February 3, 1943, the general public started using it. At that time it was the third longest bridge of its kind in the world. It was named Rabindra Setu in the year 1965 after the name of Kaviguru Rabindra Nath.
Tata had supplied steel
According to a BBC report, 26,500 tonnes of steel was used to build the Howrah Bridge, out of which 23,500 tonnes of steel was supplied by Tata Steel. Its specialty is that this entire bridge rests only on two pillars 280 feet high built on both sides of the river. The distance between these two pillars is one and a half thousand feet. Apart from this, there is no pillar anywhere in the river to support the bridge.
nails were used
One special thing about Howrah Bridge is that in its construction, nails made of metal were used, not nut-bolts, to connect steel plates. In the year 2011, it was revealed in a report that due to spitting of tobacco, the thickness of the legs of the bridge is decreasing. After which, for the safety of the bridge, its steel legs were covered with fiberglass from below. In which about 20 lakh rupees were spent.