In the late seventeenth century three cities came together to form Calcutta: Calcutta, Sutanati and Gobindapur, on the eastern bank of the river Ganga. In the West Bank was a new city: Howrah , a bustling commercial center in Calcutta actually a twin, separated by the river Ganga.
Both cities shared a common historical bond required the construction of a bridge, because while Calcutta progressed and transformed into a modern metropolis, Howrah stopped in its development as a satellite being industrial. In 1870 he established the Calcutta port and the bridge was approved in 1871, but the final site could not be opened until 1906, oiled by the railway station.
The first bridge project, formerly called Howra was conducted by Sir Bradford Leslie, the famous floating bridge builder. When Calcutta was consolidated as the nation's capital and saw its trade volume expand, the bridge became more important, then was moved a hundred yards down, completely rebuilt in 1992, was renamed Rabindra (which was the name given in 1965 in tribute to Tagore) and Setu by Vidya Sagar Setu, educator and fighter for freedom.
The current Rabindra Setu Bridge is a suspension bridge with cantilever; the main towers are 280 meters tall and are built of concrete and high strength steel. Among the towers of the bridge deck hangs thirty-nine pairs of hangers.
This bridge is considered one of the wonders of the world for its immense property value, is the largest bridge of its kind given all Asia and throughout the years, has united generations and facilitated the passage of countless individuals and vegetables daily, one of the busiest bridges in the world.
For over sixty years was the living symbol of the city of Calcutta, and is now called "The door of Calcutta" and the pride of the city which is rightly considered the cultural capital of the country, it is directly related to three Nobel Nobel: Rabindranath Tagore, Dr. CV Raman, Mother Teresa and Nobel laureate Dr. Amartya Sen. It has the oldest and largest port in India, the first underground railway, and is home to the Library and National Museum, which are the largest in the country.
Calcutta was renamed Kolkata in 2001, his twin Howra retains its historical name, but the bridge that unites them is also a bridge between tradition and modernity, past, present and future of one of the most shocking India.