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Lal
Dighi (meaning
Red
Pool)
is
a
body
of
water
in
the
middle
of B.
B.
D.
Bagh,
earlier
known
as
Tank
Square
or
Dalhousie
Square,
in
the
heart
of Kolkata,
earlier
known
as
Calcutta,
in
the Indian state of West
Bengal.
Government
of
West
Bengal
has
planned
for
a
115,000
square
feet
(10,700Â m2)
underground
car
park
at
the
northern
end
of
Lal
Dighi
at
a
cost
of
Rs.
35
crore.
It
will
accommodate
about
700
cars.
It
will
be
the
biggest
car
parking
plaza
in
Kolkata.It
will
be
a
two-storey
structure
and
it
would
not
cause
any
harm
to
the
existing
Lal
Dighi.Earlier,
three
construction
firms
â
Simplex
Projects
Limited,
Tantia
Construction
Company
and
Samar
and
Samar,
a
joint
venture
with
Rajpath
Contractors
Engineers
Limited,
had
submitted
bids
on
the
original
tender,
but
the
Public
Works
Department
(PWD)
cancelled
that
and
revised
the
plan.The
state
government
asked
private
players
for
free
parking
zone
for
350
VIP
cars.
When
it
failed
to
find
a
build-operate-transfer
partner,
it
assign
PWD
the
job
of
constructing
the
underground
car
park
from
the
state
governmentâs
budget.
The
plan
has
faced
various
hurdles.
The
urban
development
department
and
PWD
have
been
at
loggerheads.PWD
and Calcutta
Tramways
Company could
not
agree
on
shifting
tram
tracks
on
the
north-east
of
Lal
Dighi,
along
the Netaji
Subhas
Road.When
the
PWD
sought
permission
to
pump
out
Lal
Dighi
water,
the
fire
services
categorically
said
no.
The
pond
also
acts
as
the
reservoir
for
water
pumps
in
the
BBD
Bag
complex.
The
fire
department
has
stipulated
that
a
minimum
water
level
of
2.5
metre
must
be
maintained
during
the
two-year
construction
of
the
parking
plaza.
Lal
Dighiâs
current
water
level
is
6
metre.The
project
is
expected
to
be
completed
around
October
2010.
B.
B.
D.
Bagh
is
likely
to
undergo
a
regeneration
drive,
possibly
with
financial
aid
from
US-based World
Monuments
Fund and
some
city
based
chambers
of
commerce.
Set
up
to
further
accessorise
the
centre
of
the
city
without
losing
the
old
world
charm
emanating
from
colonial
architecture,
Kolkata
Regeneration
Society
(KRS)
has
been
formed
with
the
Governor, Gopalkrishna
Gandhi as
chairman.
The
other
functionaries
of
the
society
include Bikash
Ranjan
Bhattacharya,
mayor, Barun
De,
historian
and
Dilip
Chakraborty,
principal
secretary,
state
information
and
cultural
affairs
department.
It
would
function
in
an
advisory
capacity.[13]
With
about
8
feet
(2.4Â m)
of
the
twenty
feet
structure
likely
to
be
above
ground,
engineers,
architects
and
town
planners
fear
that
it
would
be
an
eyesore
in
a
heritage
zone.
After
a
presentation
was
made
to
the
Kolkata
Regeneration
Society
in
June
2007,
the
Governor
has
advised
a
reconsideration
of
the
design.