Smita's Kolkata Chronicles

Remount Road adjacent to Diamond Harbour road reminds one of the colonial past with red brick mansions. A short ride leads to the South Eastern Railway (SER) Head Quarters at Garden Reach. The sprawling red building with domes, turret and kharkaris is a majestic sight. Till date it is referred to as The Bengal Nagpur Railway Headquarters. The BNR main line from Nagpur to Asansol was opened for goods traffic on 1 st February 1891. It was only after Kharagpur was linked from the west and the south that it was connected to Howrah in 1900. The Main Office is housed in a massive red building built in the Indo – Saracenic style in 1907. The logo comprises of a tiger and a snake probably depicting Bengal and Nagpur. The management of the BNR was taken over by the Government of India in 1944. In 1952 BNR merged with East Indian Railway Company to form Eastern Railway. In 1955, South Eastern Railway (SER) was made an independent unit of the Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) was established in 1884 by East India Company, as a workshop to repair vessels of River Steam Navigation Company.  In 1934, the Company was registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and was renamed as Garden Reach Workshops (GRW) Limited. During 1939 -1945 the company was actively involved in the World War II.T he Government of India took over the same in 1960 .  The primary role of this riverine shipyard has been building warships and other vessel for the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.  The diverse category of vessels built includes 05 ton boats to 24600 ton Fleet Tanker, world class Frigates and Fast Attack Crafts. Its role in defense preparedness of Indian Navy is undeniable. Other activities comprise of engineering business with a product profile of pre-fabricated steel bridges, various deck machinery items & assembly/testing/overhauling of marine diesel engines. The 1st warship of Independent India, INS Ajay w