Assam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the country's longest rail-cum-road bridge over Brahmaputra river at Bogibeel near Dibrugarh in Assam.

After reaching Dibrugarh in the afternoon from New Delhi, PM Modi directly flew to Bogibeel in a chopper and inaugurated the 4.94-km-long double-decker bridge from the southern bank of the river.

PM Modi, along with Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, also walked a few metres on the bridge.


Prime Minister's Christmas gift to the nation
 

  • The Bogibeel Bridge is 4.94 km long.
     
  • It will connect Dibrugarh and Dhemaji.
     
  • The bridge will also reduce the road-rail distance.
     
  • It will strengthen the national security of the Northeast by facilitating faster movement of armed forces, war equipment.
     
  • Travel time from Dibrugarh to Delhi will be cut short from 37 hours to 34 hours.
     
  • The bridge will link NH-37 on the southern bank and NH-52 on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra with a 29.47-km long national highway.

Also read: Good Governance Day: A look at infrastructural wonders that are a major boost to India’s connectivity 

The strategically important bridge over the mighty Brahmaputra will remove communication bottlenecks to several districts in Arunachal Pradesh.

Also read: Bogibeel Bridge: Congress, NDTV still negative, ignoring 6 big advantages for Assam, Arunachal

The Bogibeel Bridge, which was a part of the Assam Accord and sanctioned in 1997-98, is likely to play a crucial role in defence movement along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.