The iconic Howrah Bridge will light up with a new sound and light show on January 11. The light and sound show is a project of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The new show, expected to turn into an attraction for tourists and the people of the metropolis, will replace the existing decorative lighting with 650 power-efficient LED and spotlight fittings for a programmable multi-colour lighting including a show that will sync with music. The show will take place for 2.5 minute show. The music is expected to be synced on a mobile app to enable people to enjoy the show from any location besides Millenium Park, which is close to Howrah bridge and on the banks of the Hooghly river.
The bridge will be lighted in different colours for about two hours on a daily basis. Built in the British era, the cantilever bridge was opened to the people in 1943 replacing a pontoon bridge at the same location and linking Kolkata and Howrah.
Kolkata's iconic Howrah Bridge to have light and sound show
Kolkata's iconic Howrah Bridge to have light and sound show
Interesting Facts about Howrah Bridge:
- The Howrah Bridge, at the time of construction, was the third-longest cantilever bridge in the world.
- The first vehicle to cross over the Howrah Bridge was a tram. At that time traffic came from two-wheelers, cars, buses, trams and trucks plying on the bridge.
- In 1965, the name of the bridge was officially changed to Rabindra Setu, after Bengali Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. However, to this date, the name 'Howrah Bridge' remains more popularly and commonly used in Kolkata.
- Today, with nearly 100,000 vehicles and over 150,000 pedestrians passing by daily the Howrah Bridge is perhaps the busiest cantilever bridge in the world.
- The bridge has found its way into many films and books both in Bengal and elsewhere. Movies by Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak, for example, have featured the Howrah Bridge. In 1958, Bollywood made a thriller movie with the name of the iconic bridge "Howrah Bridge."
The first bridge over the Hooghly River connecting Calcutta was opened to traffic on the 17th of October 1874.
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