Assam: Modi to virtually launch Mahabahu-Brahmaputra, lays foundation stone of Dhubri-Phulbari bridge on Feb 18

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways; MoS (I/C) for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Chief Minister of Assam will also be present on the occasion.

The launch of Mahabahu-Brahmaputra will be marked by the inauguration of the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari; Shilanyas of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Jogighopa and various tourist jetties on River Brahmaputra and launch of digital solutions for Ease-of-Doing-Business.

The program is aimed at providing seamless connectivity to the Eastern parts of India and includes various development activities for the people living around River Brahmaputra and River Barak.

The Ro-Pax services will help in reducing the travel time by providing connectivity between banks and thus reducing the distance to be travelled by road.

The Ro-Pax operation between Neamati and Majuli will reduce the total distance of 420 km currently being travelled by vehicles to only 12 km, resulting in a substantial impact on the logistics of small-scale industries of the region. Two indigenously procured Ro-Pax vessels, namely, M.V. Rani Gaidinliu and M.V.

Introduction of Ro-Pax vessel M.V. J.F.R. Jacob between North and South Guwahati will reduce travelling distance of around 40 km to a mere 3 km. Introduction of M.V. Bob Khathing between Dhubri and Hatsingimari will reduce travelling distance of 220 km to 28 km, thus resulting in a huge saving of travel distance and time.

The programme also includes shilanyas for construction of tourist jetties at four locations, namely, Neamati, Biswanath Ghat, Pandu and Jogighopa with the financial assistance of Rs 9.41 crore from the Ministry of Tourism.

These jetties will promote river cruise tourism, generate local employment and also generate growth for local business.

A permanent Inland Water Transport Terminal will also be built at Jogighopa under the program, which will connect with the Multi-Modal Logistics Park also coming up at Jogighopa.

This terminal will help in reducing the traffic on the Siliguri Corridor towards Kolkata and Haldia. It will also facilitate the uninterrupted movement of cargo even during flood season to various North-Eastern States like Meghalaya and Tripura and to Bhutan and Bangladesh as well.

The Prime Minister will also launch two e-portals to further Ease of Doing Business. The Car-D (Cargo Data) portal will collate cargo and cruise data on a real time basis. PANI (Portal for Asset and Navigation Information) will act as a one-stop solution for providing information about river navigation and infrastructure.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone for the four lane bridge over the Brahmaputra between Dhubri (on North Bank) and Phulbari (on South Bank).

The proposed Bridge will be located on NH-127B, originating from Srirampur on NH-27 (East-West Corridor), and terminating at Nongstoin on NH-106 in the State of Meghalaya. It will connect Dhubri in Assam to  Phulbari, Tura, Rongram and Rongjeng in Meghalaya.

The bridge, to be built with a total cost of approximately Rs 4997 crore, will meet the long-standing demand of the people from Assam and Meghalaya who were depending on ferry services to travel between the two banks of the river. It will reduce the distance of 205 km to be travelled by Road to 19 km, which is the total length of the bridge.

Modi will perform Bhumi Pujan for the two-lane Bridge on the Brahmaputra between Majuli (North Bank) and Jorhat (South Bank).

The bridge will be located on NH-715K and will connect Nimatighat (on Jorhat side) and Kamalabari (on Majuli side). The Construction of the bridge has been a long demand of the people of Majuli who for generations have been dependent on the ferry services to connect with the mainland of Assam.

Modi will also visit Assam on February 22 and he will inaugurate several government projects and will address a public rally at Silapathar in Dhemaji district.