PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate India’s longest river bridge near China border on May 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s longest river bridge on May 26. Capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, it will be inaugurated in Assam close to the border with China.

It will be a 9.15-km-long Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra River. With its inauguration, PM Modi will also kick start NDA government’s celebrations of three years in office from the eastern-most part of Assam.

Besides providing easy access to the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with air and rail connectivity, the bridge is seen as an attempt by India to shore up its defence requirements along the Sino-Indian border particularly in the Northeast.

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Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The prime minister will dedicate the strategically important bridge to the nation on May 26. It will bolster the road connectivity in the Northeast as the bridge will be used by people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh besides defence forces extensively.”

At a project cost of 950 crore, the construction of the bridge began in 2011. It is designed in such a manner that it can withstand the movement of military tanks.

“Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have huge strategic value to the country. Since the bridge is located close to our border with China, it will help quick movement of military troops and artillery in times of conflict,” Sonowal further added.

The bridge is one of the key projects of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Northeast and is built in public-private partnership with a construction company.

Meanwhile, the BJP government in Assam will one year in office on May 24.

With inputs from PTI.

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