Photos: Kolkata’s Howrah Bridge completes 75 years as a city landmark

Kolkata's iconic Howrah Bridge, completed 75 years of its existence over the weekend, having opened itself to throughfare on February 03, 1943.

Updated on: Feb 05, 2018 5:22 PM IST

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The Rabindra Setu, or Howrah Bridge as it’s known more popularly is illuminated by the Kolkata Port Trust with a special light arrangement on February 03, 2018 in Kolkata. Opening to the public on February 03, 1943, this city icon marked its 75th year in operation over the weekend. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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A cantilever structure with its characteristic horizontal beams supported only at one end, the Howrah Bridge was commissioned to connect the cities of Howrah and Kolkata, replacing a pontoon bridge that existed earlier in its place. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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The 2150-foot long suspension style bridge seen here from a shop beside Mullick Ghat has a clear span over the Hooghly of 1500 feet. Something of an engineering marvel, the entire structure is held together with rivets and uses no nuts and bolts. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Howrah train station seen with the Howrah Bridge in the backdrop on February 4, 2018. Like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, the Howrah Bridge is inescapable in the city’s skyline and a journey to the city is incomplete without a stop here. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Constructed of high-tensile steel, the bridge used a total of 26,500 tonnes of the alloy with Tata Steel providing 23,500 tonnes. The two main towers of the bridge pictured here are 280 feet high. The bridge-today stands as the 6th longest of its kind in the world. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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The Howrah Bridge’s emergence as a city icon has also found it a place in pop culture with portrayal of the bridge for its structural beauty or as a plot device in films such as Howrah Bridge (1958), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), Barfi (2012 and most recently the Telegu Howrah Bridge (2018). (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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The bridge ferries upwards of an estimated 1.15 lakh vehicles daily while making space for the nearly 5 lakh pedestrians who use its walkways. A tramcar was the first ever vehicle to run across its lenght from city-end to station-end. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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People perform their morning ablutions on a ghat of the Hooghly against the Howrah Bridge. The connectivity brought by the bridge has also lent life to other city landmarks like the Howrah Fish Market which is considered the country’s largest, the Burrabazar commercial hub and Mullick Ghat Flower market which also stakes a claim to the largest of its kind title. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)