GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the country's longest rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra River in Dibrugarh, Assam.
The 4.9-km long Bogibeel Bridge is iconic in its own ways and reduces travel time between Assam-Arunachal Pradesh and Dibrugarh-Delhi altogether and also improves defense logistics along Arunachal Pradesh’s border with China not to forget that it is strong enough to bear the movement of military tanks, it is only obvious that political parties are clamoring to take credit for the initiation and completion of the project.
The BJP credits to project to the BJP led NDA Government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Addressing the gathering, Modi said, “About 16 years ago, Atal ji came here. He had a vision for the development of the Bogibeel Bridge. This bridge is also a tribute to his vision. When Vajpayeeji's government lost power in 2004, several key infrastructure projects of his era were not completed. If Atal Bihari Vajpayee had a second term, the Bogibeel Bridge would have been ready by 2008-09. Atal ji gave great importance to good governance. Good governance is all about strong and inclusive growth. I am in Assam on the day we mark the Jayanti of our beloved Atal ji,” he said at the event.
In a tweet Gogoi said, “Elated that PM Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge coinciding with birth anniversary of former PM Late A.B Vajpayee. However it was during the UPA-led Govt headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, national status was accorded that brought in huge allocation of funds for accelerating the work.”
However, making additions to this list is Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, who expressed his disappointment at not being invited for the inauguration of the bridge, despite being the one to lay the foundation stone for the Bogibeel Bridge sometime in 1997 according to an NDTV report.
“Aiyo Rama! Who will remember me? Some newspapers might have mentioned about it,” the Hindustan Times quoted Deve Gowda at an event in Bengaluru. “The railway line to Kashmir, Delhi Metro and Bogibeel Railroad Bridge were among the projects I had sanctioned as Prime Minister. I had sanctioned the budget of Rs 100 crore for each of these projects and laid their foundation stones. People have forgotten today.”
AGP also stakes claim for Bogibeel Bridge
India’s longest rail-cum-road-bridge over the Brahmaputra was not a part of the written railway budget of 1996 but a verbal commitment by the then Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan of the United Front Government in the Lok Sabha during his budget speech. Then Steel Minister, Birendra Prasad Baishya of Asom Gana Parishad, made his cabinet colleague Paswan believe that it would be a ‘small bridge’ and would not be a big deal for the Centre reports the Times of India.
According to the report, five AGP members decided to get the bridge sanctioned after getting elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996 and becoming a partner in the United Front Government headed by Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
The Bogibeel Bridge was announced in a speech by Paswan from a piece of paper that Baishya pressurized Paswan to keep. Paswan announced the plan to build a ‘chota pul’ at Bogibeel and it was recorded in the proceedings.
“We five went to the Railway Ministry and were told that the bridge would not happen so easily as it would cost a huge amount of money. At that time, the estimated cost was Rs. 2000 Crore. But we were determined to get the project sanctioned,” said Baishya according to a report on the Times of India.