As Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates India’s largest rail-cum-road bridge on Tuesday, here are a few things you need to know about the bridge which will be a major step in improving road connections between Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of North-East India.
Signed in accordance with the Assam Accord in 1985, though then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda laid the foundation stone of the bridge in January 1997, the construction of the Bogibeel bridge started in April 2002 when then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated it. Coincidentally, the bridge is being inaugurated on the latter’s birthday as a tribute to him.
With a length of 4.9 km and serviceable period of 120 years, it is built 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh town over the Brahmaputra river. The bridge will connect Dibrugarh with Dhemaji near Arunachal Pradesh border in Assam. It will also help in quicker movement of troops and supplies to the other state which shares its borders with China.
The bridge aims to reduce three hours of road travel time (for 150 km) for passengers who are used to travelling 255 km away to the Bhupen Hazarika Setu to reach Arunachal Pradesh. Even the previous rail bridge was 560 km away and the new bridge will reduce train travel time by 4-5 hours.
Built at a cost of around Rs 5,920 crore, the design of the bridge is inspired by Oresund Bridge that connects Sweden and Finland across the Oresund strait. The bridge, however, doesn’t go underwater, unlike its Swedish counterpart.
The Northeast Frontier Railway will run four special trains from Gogamukh in Lakhimpur district and Murkongselek in Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on the bridge's inaugural day.
Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister from Congress Nabam Tuki had earlier appealed to the Prime Minister to not inaugurate the bridge on Christmas day as it is difficult for people from the state to participate in the program.
Many organisations in Assam were also demanding the bridge be named after King Chaolung Sukaphaa, the founder of the erstwhile Ahom Kingdom where present-day Assam stands. Even a few BJP leaders had asked for the bridge to be named as Atal Setu.