Metro-themed Durga puja pandal in Kolkata wows netizens

The Durga Puja pandal at Kolkata’s Jagat Mukherjee Park is making rounds on the internet for its recreation of the Kolkata underwater metro, inaugurated early this year.

A viral video shows the innovative pandal, which celebrates 40 years of the Kolkata Metro Rail and pays tribute to its newest edition, the Green Line underwater metro.

The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade underwater metro section, inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the first underwater metro tunnel built under a major river in India.

The pandal, modelled after it, replicates a Green Line metro coach complete with sliding doors and escalators. Themed around the pollution in the Ganga, the pandal features a Durga idol depicted as Goddess Ganga seated on a crocodile.

One of the chief organizers, Dwaipayan Roy, said the pandal was created to give visitors the experience of being inside a Green Line metro coach.

Artist Subal Pal in an interview with The Hindu said, "It took months of research and several metro trips to recreate the authentic under-river metro experience. We also consulted with Metro Rail authorities, whose guidance, though unofficial, was invaluable in bringing our vision to life."