NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Friday
announced a gift for the northeast on the third anniversary of the NDA government - the naming of
India's longest bridge after the region's beloved singer Bhupen Hazarika.
"This bridge's name will be
Bhupen Hazarika Bridge
," PM Modi declared in a public address, after he inaugurated what was provisionally called
the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge in Assam .
The PM began his first public address on the third anniversary of his NDA government by slamming the previous Congress-led UPA government for "long delays" in infrastructure projects, including on this bridge project.
"You have been waiting for this bridge for the last five decades, today you have got it. And if (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee had been re-elected in 2004, this bridge would have been ready 10 yrs ago," the PM said.
The opening of the bridge was described by Modi as "the fulfilment of Vajpayee's dream".
The PM also congratulated the BJP government in
Assam which has just completed one year in power, after decades of
Congress rule.
"Within one year of BJP rule in Assam, the state got rid of a lot of problems," the PM said, again taking a dig at the Congress party.
The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge is built over the river Lohit, which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra. It links Dhola in Assam to Sadiya in
Arunachal Pradesh
. The bridge will reduce travel time between the two states by as much as four hours.
Modi earlier tweeted and described the bridge as "one of the most important infrastructure projects to be undertaken" in the country.
The bridge is capable of bearing the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank. It will improve the movement of civilian and military vehicles to strategic locations, all the way up to Anini in Arunachal Pradesh. Anini is about 100km from India's border with China. It will also reduce the time it takes the armed forces to reach the border in Dibang and Anjaw. That journey currently takes about two days.
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