GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday launched the construction works of the 8.25-km-long bridge over Brahmaputra, connecting the world's largest river island Majuli with Jorhat, to be built at a cost of over Rs 925 crore.
The project will be executed by UP State Bridge Construction Corporation Ltd, Lucknow, and the targeted period for completion of the project is four years, an official statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.
Sarma launched the construction works at Majuli, where he also announced that the Assam government will build a new bridge connecting Majuli with Lakhimpur on the northern side of the island at an estimated cost of Rs 750 crore, which will be spent from its own resources.
For the construction of the Majuli-Jorhat bridge, including immediate approaches over Brahmaputra on NH-715K at Dakshinpat, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sanctioned Rs 925.47 crore, the statement said.
Speaking at the occasion, Sarma said, "Today is a historic day for the people of Majuli. The launch of construction of Majuli-Jorhat Bridge is a milestone event and this will give renewed momentum to the development journey of the district.
"This bridge was a longstanding demand of the people of Majuli. Once construction of this bridge is completed, it will give a paradigm shift to connectivity between Jorhat and Majuli besides leading to rapid development in the island district."
He said that the state government has already constituted a cabinet committee to regularly monitor the progress of the project and aim to inaugurate the bridge by November 2025.
"Around Rs 200 crore will be spent by the state government from for this bridge," he added. The chief minister also inaugurated officers' quarters and grade-III quarters under the Integrated Office cum Residential Building project at Majuli.
Under this project, steps are taken for the construction of integrated DC office, site development and quarters with an outlay of Rs 50 crore.
During his visit to the district, Sarma also interacted with the members of Majuli District Journalists' Association and Majuli district All Assam Press Correspondents' Union and took stock of the issues relating to the welfare of journalists.
He assured them that the state government will take the necessary steps to address the issues raised by them.