Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated India’s longest rail-road bridge named the Bogibeel Bridge on 25th December 2018 which also mark the birth anniversary of the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The day is observed as “Good Governance Day” by the government.
Highlights
- Opening of bridge after 16 years of Vajpayee declaration on it.
- The bridge is second longest rail-road bridge in Asia.
- It joins Dibrugarh and Dhemaji regions together.
Bogibeel Bridge: PM Modi opens India’s longest railroad bridge
The bridge joins the south bank of the Brahmaputra River which is located in Assam’s Dibrugarh region with Silapathar in Dhemaji region, adjoining Arunachal Pradesh.
PM Modi inaugurated the bridge with flagged off the first train on the bridge. He also described its inaugural as a “historic” achievement as well as called it a support for the general public of Assam.
Earlier the Union Minister JP Nadda said “This will usher in a new era of progress and development for the Northeastern states, with enhanced connectivity that will spur economic growth in the region”.
The bridge is constructed at a projected cost of Rs 5,900 crore. The bridge is also considered as second-longest rail-road bridge in Asia. The bridge is part of infrastructure projects intended to progress logistics alongside the boundaries in Arunachal Pradesh.
This comprises the manufacture of a trans-Arunachal highway on the north bank of Brahmaputra and the new road as well as rail associations over the river and its most important branches.
The bridge will also decrease the train travel time in the middle of Delhi and Dibrugarh by about three hours.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on this big success stated “By enhancing connectivity, the Bogibeel Bridge will provide a boost to growth and development in the Northeast, while furthering India’s strategic interests.”
Piyush Goyal further said “A huge Christmas gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to the people of the Northeast…”
The establishment stone of the assignment was put down by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on 22nd January 1997. However, the work began on 21st April 2002, under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee headed government. In 2007, the Congress headed UPA government affirmed it a national project.
Today, on the inauguration day of the bridge the Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that PM Modi had achieved Vajpayee’s dreams and visions.
Mohinder Singh who is the Chief Engineer of the bridge said that the 4.9 km long bridge is the country’s only entirely welded bridge. For the first time in India to make fully welded bridge, European codes and welding criteria were surveyed and followed. He further said that it has a “serviceable period of around 120 years”.
PM Modi on his twitter account also talk about the Bogibeel Bridge and tweeted, “It is indeed an honour to have inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge on Atal Ji’s Jayanti.
After all, he was really keen that this project sees the light of day.
This and several other critical infra projects that were delayed for years are getting completed under the NDA Government.”
His further tweet stated “The Bogibeel Bridge is among the most state-of-the-art infra projects in India
It will deepen connectivity and open new avenues of prosperity for citizens.”
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