Our member, Mr A. Kr Sengupta, a distinguished civil engineer, takes us underground to the early days of Kolkata’s metro.

I graduated from B. E. College in 1963 and entered the Eastern Railway services as a civil engineer. Once I was made Deputy Chief in 1976, I moved on to Metro Railways. In 1990 I returned to the railways as Commissioner of Railway Safety. After being appointed Chief Commissioner, I served in Lucknow until my retirement.<
I was part of the team that built Kolkata’s metro in 1984. As the first such system in the country, it drew intense scrutiny, and we worked twice as hard to ensure every line was safe. Along the way, we faced serious setbacks: the collapse of Kalighat station one day, and during grouting on the Budge Budge line, we uncovered severe track issues.
Thanks to relentless teamwork and the goodwill of the city’s residents the network’s inauguration went off without a hitch. On that October day in 1984, the very first train ran between Bhawanipore, later renamed Netaji Bhawan, and Esplanade, marking a proud milestone for Kolkata and India alike.
In the early days of my tenure at Metro Railways, we battled chronic waterlogging. A major flood at Bhawanipore station once forced a complete evacuation and halted service until we could clear tonnes of mud from the tunnels. Whilst constructing the metro, we learned a lot from other countries, but problems such as flooding we peculiar to a place like Kolkata, and we had to learn a lot on the job.
Looking back, my years in the railways were defined by challenges met, friendships forged, and the enduring satisfaction of seeing a lifetime’s work carry millions of passengers every day.

(as narrated to Support Elders by our member)

Few people have jobs that allow them to fulfil their desire to travel the world, as our member Mr D. K. Mukherjee did. But not all his trips were easily completed. Here, he recalls a particularly challenging assignment in Bolivia.

There was a time when I was posted in Bolivia, South America, for six months. It was one of the most arduous journeys I have made anywhere.
I had been selected to supervise a tea processing factory located at an altitude of 18,000 feet. Acclimatising was a huge challenge. We had trouble breathing and couldn’t walk for long without feeling exhausted. There were a few of us in the team, including members from other Asian countries. One Sri Lankan colleague, I remember, fell seriously ill. He suffered from extreme nausea and had to be rushed back home.
The assignment was all the more difficult because we weren’t allowed to take our spouses with us. On earlier assignments, such as in Africa, I had stayed in jungle areas—but those trips felt easier because our families were with us.
This time, in Bolivia, I was determined to stay the course. I pushed through despite the biting cold and the emotional strain of being so far from my loved ones. Occasionally, we would come down to lower altitudes, which helped us breathe better and feel more at ease.
Still, it was a memorable time. I ate well, sang and danced with the locals during their festivals, and travelled around the country. Although I enjoyed myself, I remained a stickler for discipline. From Monday to Friday, rain or shine, I would report to work at 8 a.m. sharp and leave only after 6 p.m.
When my assignment was over, I visited my son, then a student in the USA, before returning to Kolkata. Once back home, I felt as though I had returned from a grand adventure—one that tested me, but also left me with a sense of accomplishment.

(As narrated to Support Elders by our member)