| Victoria
Memorial |
| |
| At
the southern end of Maidan stands the Victoria
Memorial built between 1906 and 1921 on the
lines of the Taj Mahal in memory of Queen
Victoria. This huge white-marble museum houses
a vast collection of memorabilia from the
days of British empire. There are potraits,
statues and busts of almost all the main participants
in British India history. Two regular sound
and light shows are held in the evening. |
| |
|
Howrah Bridge |
| |
| is
one of three bridges on the river Hooghly
and is the most famous symbol of not only
Calcutta but also West Bengal. This bridge
is marvel of British engineering. Howrah Bridge
is a suspended bridge on pillars. The bridge
though very old is still holding good to reduce
the traffic across the river.This Engineering
marvel has been the firmest symbol of Calcutta.
The huge cantilever bridge, strung on 270
feet high pillars connects Calcutta from Howrah.
It four traffic lanes are daily used by over
a lakh vehicles. |
| |
|
Saheed Minar |
| |
| This
165 ft. High monument was erected by public
subscription in 1828, to honour Sir David
Ochter Lony, a one- time resident of Malwa
& Rajputana. More recently, it has now
been renamed 'Saheed Minar' to honour the
martyrs of the freedom struggle. An important
landmark in Calcutta, it is located at the
Northern end of the Maidan. |
| |
| Vidyasagar
Setu |
| |
| Vidyasagar
Setu a golden Gate Bridge look alike, 2kms downriver,
was completed in 1994. It is a modern day engineering
marvel and is the largest cable stayed bridge
in Asia. The bridge connects the twin cities
of Calcutta and Howrah. It was built at a cost
of Rs. 388 crores. Unfortunately it is not making
the big difference that was envisaged, as the
approaches are too narrow to to handle the amount
of traffic that use bridge, and plans for widening
the road are slow in implementation. |
| |
| Birla Planetarium |
| |
| This planetarium, near
the government of India tourist office, is one
of the largest in the world and is located on
Calcutta's Eastern metropolitan bypass. There
are shows in English everyday. This 21st century
marvel of science, communication and environment
is the first and only institution of its kind
in India. Set amidst |
