26th Dec 2018 07:12:PM Editorials
Eastern Sentinel Arunachal News

After 21 years of long wait and two times escalation of cost, the Bogibeel bridge connecting Dibrugarh and Dhemaji between south and north banks of River Brahmaputra has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25. At 4.94 kms, this is India’s longest rail-cum road bridge, the foundation stone for which was laid in 1997 by the then Prime Minister Deve Gowda during his short tenure as PM of India. The bridge also fulfills another of the demands of Assam Accord signed in 1985. It is a sad commentary to make that at the hour of reckoning, Deve Gowda was forgotten. However, it goes to the credit of another former prime minister late Atal Behari Vajpayee who inaugurated the construction activity in April 2002 with taking an assurance from the then Railway Board chairman that the bridge will be completed before the deadline of 2012. Though it was not completed as scheduled, the work was speeded up. Realising its strategic importance, the central government had declared the construction of the bridge as a National Project in 2007, thereby assuring availability of funds for its speedy construction.
While the bridge will ease out inconvenience caused to people living on the northern side of Brahmaputra to a great extent, officials said the defence requirement played an important role while sanctioning the structure and its design. The bridge will enhance the national security of the eastern region by facilitating swift movement of defence forces and their equipment. It was constructed in such a way that even a fighter jet can land on it in case of emergency not to forget the movement of heavy tanks.
This bridge will also facilitate connectivity between north and south banks of river Brahmaputra in the eastern region of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The remote districts of Anjaw, Changlang, Lohit, Lower Dibang Valley, Dibang Valley and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh will be greatly benefitted, according to NF Railway. The road distance from Dibrugarh to Itanagar will be reduced by 150 km and the railway travel distance between these two points will shorten by 705 km. This will result in massive socio economic development of Arunachal Pradesh too.


Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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