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Work on the navigational lock at Farakka barrage, 280 km upstream from Kolkata, that promises a fresh lease of life for Kolkata Port, has just begun after a series of preliminary studies. In a fortnight, the foundation stone of the project, a technological marvel by itself, will be formally laid by the Union minister of shipping, Nitin Gadkari. The new navigational lock is being constructed by Larson and Toubro (L&T) at a cost of Rs 359 crore and will facilitate smoother and faster dispersal of vessels.
At present, a ship takes more than two hours to pass upstream or downstream of Farakka, because of a very old lock at the barrage which has been operational since 1978.The new lock will facilitate the crossing over precisely in 38 minutes. If movement of a vessel is followed by movement of another vessel in the reverse di rection, the operating time will be 23 minutes only.
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