KOLKATA: In its first stint at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Trinamool Congress board had proposed a grand gate on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. A brainchild of then mayor Subrata Mukherjee, the Kolkata Gate didn't see the light of the day. Now, the party in its second term at the helm of KMC, has proposed another gate. This time the location selected is at the entrance to one of the roads that lead to Kalighat temple, one of the most sacred pilgrim sites in the east and a popular tourist destinations as well.

The proposed gate at Kalighat is Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's brainchild. She has already promised Rs 20 lakh for the iconic structure from her MP local area development fund. The initial budget for the construction of the superstructure has been estimated at Rs 60 lakhs but sources said it could even scale Rs 1 crore.

Given that Didi's dream is the wish of everyone in the Trinamool rank and file, KMC has swung into action to realize the dream. A series of spot visits later, a detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared by civic engineers. According to the DPR, the 40 ft ? 60 ft gate would be located at Kalighat Road, just opposite Harish Chatterjee Street where Mamata's house is located. The roads most commonly used by pilgrims and visitors though are Kali Temple Road off S P Mukherjee Road and Sadananda Road off Hazra Road.

The proposed marble gate will depict scenes from Satir Dehotyag' and 51 pith or sacred religious sites of which Kalighat is one.

Though the project was conceived a couple of years ago, it was taken up in all seriousness only a month ago after Mamata entrusted member mayor-in-council Firhad Hakim to oversee the project. Hakim then asked engineers to visit the spot. Soil tests followed. KMC officials then sought permission for construction of the gate from Kolkata Police officers. "We have got approval from police and are now moving ahead with the plan to construct the gate," a senior KMC engineer connected with the project said. A scaled-down model of the gate has already been also prepared by KMC engineers.

Though local residents welcomed the endeavour, they questioned the selection of spot. "SP Mukherjee Road is the main entrance to the Kalighat temple, not Kalighat Road. The gate should have been constructed on S.P Mukherjee Road itself. If there was some problem here, then the entrance to Sadananda Road should have been the location," said local resident Sumanta Mukherjee.

The MMiC in charge of the project said initially the gate was proposed at the entrance of Kali Temple Road but had to be shifted as drilling to erect the columns could have damaged the underground Metro tunnel. Besides, there were hawkers at the spot and the gate would necessitate their relocation. He though, did not comment on why it was not relocated to the Sadananda Road entry point.

Opposition leaders in the KMC felt the MP LAD fund could have been utilised on welfare projects. "I personally feel that construction of the gate has been planned as part of an image building exercise for the Trinamool Congress chief and not for religious reasons," said Amal Mitra, the Left Front chief whip at KMC.