PM Modi's Christmas gift to nation: Assam's Bogibeel Bridge now functional

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.

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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.