Kolkata, June 28: The foundation laying ceremony of the ambitious Kolkatagate project of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) would be put off if Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani was unable to attend the programme. City Mayor Subrata Mukherjee told newspersons though the KMC had not received any communication from the Deputy Prime Minister's office in New Delhi about his consent to attend the programme on July 6, he was still hopeful about his (Advani's) visit.

The mayor, whose Kolkatagate project has created controversy for its lack of the requisite environmental clearance, said if Advani was not able to lay the foundation of the project, the programme would be put off.

Expressing his determination to go ahead with the project, Mukherjee said its foundation would be laid by Advani himself, "Whenever he finds time to respond to our invitation."

Sounding upbeat on the project, the mayor said, "We will get it through despite opposition from many quarters, including the Left Front goverment."
The Kolkatagate, modelled on the Eiffel Tower, was expected to be an icon for the metropolis.

Bureau Report