PM launches ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ and lays foundation stone of two bridges in Assam

New Delhi, Feb 18 (HS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ and laid the foundation stone of two bridges in Assam. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin J Gadkari; Union Minister for Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad; and Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangama were also present on the occasion.
To mark the launch of ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’, PM Modi inaugurated the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari. He laid the foundation stone of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Jogighopa and various tourist jetties on River Brahmaputra and launched digital solutions for Ease-of-Doing-Business.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister wished the Mising community for the Ali-Aye-Ligang festival associated with agriculture, which was celebrated yesterday. He said for years this holy river was synonymous with socializing and connectivity. He lamented that not so much work related to connectivity on Brahmaputra has been done earlier. He said due to this reason connectivity within Assam and in other areas of the North East has always been a major challenge. He said now the projects are fast tracked to reduce the distances geographically and culturally of this entire region. He added that Physical and Cultural Integrity of the whole North East including Assam has been strengthened over the recent years.
PM Modi said many bridges like Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Bogibeel Bridge, Saraighat Bridge are making the life of Assam easier today. He said this strengthens the security of the country and provides great convenience for our soldiers. The campaign to connect Assam and North East has been carried forward today. The Prime Minister lauded the Chief Minister of Assam and his government to work to achieve this. Majuli has got Assam’s first helipad and is getting the fast and safe road options as long pending demand is being met with the bhumi poojan of the 8 km long bridge connecting Kalibari with Jorhat. “This is going to be a bridge of convenience and possibilities”, said the Prime Minister.
Similarly, the 19 km long bridge from  Dhubari to Fulbaari in Meghalaya will improve connectivity in Barak Valley and will reduce distance between Megahalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam. The Prime Minister pointed out that today, the distance between Megahalaya and Assam is about 250 km by road; it will be reduced to just 19-20 km.
Talking about the ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ programme, Shri Modi said that this will strengthen water connectivity by Brahampurta water through port-led development. The three Ro-Pax services which were launched today makes Assam a front-runner state to be connected with Ro-Pax services at this scale. This, along with the four tourist jetties will significantly improve Assam’s connectivity with the Northeast.