Indo American News

Tag: KOLKATA

  • Kolkata’s Howrah Bridge turns 75: Seven lesser-known facts about the iconic bridge

    Kolkata’s Howrah Bridge turns 75: Seven lesser-known facts about the iconic bridge

    The iconic Howrah Bridge in Kolkata is the sixth longest bridge of its kind in the world. (Source: Pixabay)
    The iconic Howrah Bridge in Kolkata is the sixth longest bridge of its kind in the world. (Source: Pixabay)

    The iconic structure of the Howrah Bridge completes 75 years of its existence this month. The historical landmark that has been synonymous with the City of Joy has been a witness to history, both in pre-Independence India and thereafter. The bridge has been not only been a part of history, literature and art, but also a significant part of popular culture — be it in commercial cinema or magazine art and caricature. From Satyajit Ray to Richard Attenborough and Mani Ratnam to Anurag Basu, the popular iconography of Kolkata has been celebrated by film-makers and photographers alike.

    Connecting the twin city of Kolkata (earlier known as Calcutta) and Howrah, on either sides of River Hooghly in Bengal, the archetypal structure is one of the busiest bridges on the country. Renamed Rabindra Setu in 1965 after Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the suspension-type balanced cantilever bridge has a central span of 1500 ft. between centres of main towers. As the bridge completes being functional for over seven decades, here are some interesting facts about the unique structure that you might be interested in.

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    Credits: indianexpress.com

  • In bid to attract more Indian students, UK increases scholarships

    In bid to attract more Indian students, UK increases scholarships

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    KOLKATA: The number of Indian students has decreased in the last few years in the UK, following a clamp down on bogus colleges. The British government will woo Indian students by increasing scholarships, a British High Commission official said on Friday.

    “If you compare the figures with what was there three to four years ago, the numbers have come down. It is because we clamped down heavily on bogus colleges. Now we are maintaining excellence and only bona-fide institutes are left,” Andrew Soper, minister counsellor (political and press) of the British High Commission told reporters in Kolkata.

    He said the inflow of students from India had stabilised now and that the UK is expecting a gradual increase.

    On the scholarship count, Soper said under the ‘Great Britain’ campaign, the UK governmnent was offering 59 undergraduate and 232 postgraduate scholarships across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    In the last couple of years, the number of scholarships under the UK’s flagship Chevening program had increased four-fold, to Rs 25 crore.

    Soper also said efforts had been made to ease the visa process, with every 9 out of 10 students getting it. “If you have got an admission into a UK university, you will get a visa,” the official said.

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