Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated India’s longest river bridge in Assam.
The over 9.2 km long Dhola-Sadiya bridge, built on the Lohit river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, will connect Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The Dhola-Sadiya bridge is strategically important for the military as it can withstand a weight of 60-tonne battle tanks.
With the help of this new bridge, the army would be able to enter Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, much more quickly and easily.
The bridge cuts down the distance between Rupai on NH-37 in Assam to Meka or Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 km, reducing the travel time from six hours to just one hour.
Inaugurating the longest 9.15 km bridge over a river in Assam here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made a veiled attack on the previous Congress-led UPA government, accusing it of delaying its construction, even as he named the bridge after legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika.
“For five decades, you people have been waiting for a bridge. That has now been inaugurated today (Friday),” Modi said
“If Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji had returned to power in 2004, you would have got this bridge10 years ago. This bridge will bring about a new economic revolution,” he added.
Approval for the bridge was given by the Union Cabinet in 2009 under the UPA government. Its construction began only in 2011, under the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam, and the cost of the project was around Rs 950 crore.
Modi, who is on a day-long visit to the state, was received by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Governor Banwarilal Purohit and several other dignitaries at the airport earlier. He left for Dhola, soon after his arrival.