A giant video screen on the Howrah bridge, an upgraded son et lumière at the adjacent Millennium Park and a laser light show that can be beamed on to the bridge from the park that will be visible from most parts of Kolkata and Howrah — the 80-year old engineering marvel that connects the two cities may get a night-time makeover if a proposal made by the keeper of the structure is accepted.
Kolkata Port Trust, which maintains the iconic cantilevered bridge — whose formal name is Rabindra Setu — has prepared a detailed project report with inputs from Philips, the world leader in architectural lighting, to beautify the structure and sent it to the Union ministry of culture for funding approval.
The Rs 35.87-crore project (inclusive of a five-year maintenance contract) is the second phase of the plan to beautify the bridge, which was conceived by the port authority, now known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMPK).
“The Howrah bridge is anational heritage structure. Our idea is to provide a nighttime visual treat to tourists and visitors through augmented dynamic architectural illumination, highlighting the structural brilliance of the bridge. We feel there is a lot of night-life tourism potential which can be unlocked with this project,” Vinit Kumar, chairman of SMPK, told The Telegraph.
One of the key aspects ofthis phase of illumination will be a dynamic media screen in the middle of the bridge.The screen, which will be put up on the southern side of the structure, will be made of fine thread creating a mesh which will not be immediately visible to the naked eye.
An artist’s impression of the bridge with laser lights and video wall
During the day, the gigantic gossamer screen — likely to measure 1,200 square metre— will not block the view of the bridge; the structure will come alive at night when the audio-visual elements are turned on. Moreover, there will be laser lights/projectors highlighting the 705m-long, 21.6m-wide bridge that was completed in 1943 — and soon became one of the most compelling images associated with the city. The existing volumetric lighting, which was put to use in January 2020, will be enhanced by the installation of additional LED systems. The new lighting system will be integrated with a son et lumière system to be housed at Millennium Park, on southern side of the bridge near Fairlie Place, and designed to attract visitors.
The Philips lighting division, now called Signify worldwide, has given valuable inputs for the preparation of the detailed project report.
The contractor who will execute the project will be picked through an open tender. However, a lot will depend on how soon — or if at all — the ministry of culture clears the request for funds.
Plea for funds
The ministry of culture doesn’t have a specific scheme or a fund corpus from which it can defray the amount. However, Kumar says it has doled out funds to similar projects in other parts of the country. The port chairman has already spoken with senior officials in the ministry who have assured him that they would consider the proposal.
The existing lighting system, which had cost Rs 16.83 crore, was funded by the Commissioners of Rabindra Setu, an arm of the port constituted under the provisions of the Howrah Bridge Act, 1926. The maintenance cost for the bridge is also borne by the Commissioners.
A letter written by Kumar to the secretary in the ministry of culture said the Commissioners of Rabindra Setu — effectively custodians of the bridge — did not have the resources to undertake the second phase of the beautification project.
“In view of the above, I would like to request you to provide financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid amounting to Rs 29.89 crore plus GST (i.e the capital cost of the project) for executing the subject work,” Kumar said in his letter that was sent earlier this month.
At present, laser lights illuminate the bridge on special occasions which is integrated to the sound system at the park. where a 3.5-minute clip can be played. With the video wall in place, the scope will be limitless.
There is also a plan to create an app where the light and sound programme at the park can be viewed remotely.