Bridging the Mighty Brahmaputra

The mighty Brahmaputra is the lifeline of the people of Assam and Northeast. In recent years, the constructions of bridges have picked up thus reducing travel time and cost. Moreover it has given a big boost to tourism in the North East. Here’s a glimpse…

Brahmaputra ropeway — India’s longest

India’s longest river ropeway across river Brahmaputra was inaugurated on 24 thAugust 2020 by the Assam health and education minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and Guwahati development department (GDD) minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya. This ropeway connects the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra river. The project was started way back in 2006 but was halted due to several reasons, one being the objection raised by the Archaeological Survey of India citing the construction as a threat to the Urvashi island on the Brahmaputra. Later the tower alignment was shifted and ASI gave the required permission.

What does the Ropeway bring?

1.8 kms will be covered by the ropeway which will bring down the travelling time by eight minutes. Till now people from North Guwahati used to commute to the main city either by boats, ferries or by road which used to take 45 minutes to over one hour. Also these services were often disrupted for days during the peak monsoon season when the water level crosses the danger mark.

Other than reducing the travel time substantially, the ropeway will provide a breathtaking view of the Brahmaputra and promote tourism in the State.

This cable car cabin can carry 30 passengers and one operator and can handle movement of 250 persons per hour.

Bogibeel Bridge

Bogibeel Bridge is India’s longest rail-road bridge, measuring 4.94 kilometres and connecting the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra, falling in the eastern part of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is Asia’s second largest rail-cum-road bridge. The construction was started in 2002 however it saw the light of the day only in 2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge on 25th December 2018.

Solving connectivity issues

The bridge is located just over 20 km away from the Assam- Arunachal Pradesh border and acts as an alternative to the Kolia Bhomora Setu, Tezpur in providing connectivity to nearly five million people residing in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge helps reducing travel time and cost.

Dhola-Sadiya bridge

Dhola-Sadiya bridge( Bhupen Hazarika Setu) is the longest bridge in India over water. The three lane, 9.15 km bridge has been built over river Lohit, a tributary of River Brahmaputra, and links Dhola(Tinsukia) in Assam to Sadiya in Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge was inaugurated on 26 May 2017 by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and minister of road and transport, Nitin Gadkari.

Bridging the Boundaries

Before the construction of this bridge, the only means to cross the Brahmaputra at this location was by ferry in the daytime, and this was not possible during floods. The Dhola- Sadiya bridge ensures 24X7 connectivity between upper Assam(Tinsukia) and the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge is the first permanent road connection between the northern and eastern Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge has reduced the distance from Rupai on NH-37 in Assam to Meka/Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 KM, cutting down on travel time from six hours to one hour.

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Originally published at https://kreately.in on August 25, 2020.