Name Bogibeel bridge as Atal Setu, says Assam BJP legislator

BJP legislator from Dibrugarh constituency, Prasanta Phukan has appealed to the Centre to name the yet-to-be-inaugurated Bogibeel bridge after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The former Prime Minister had inaugurated the construction of the Bridge, a major infrastructure project in the region in 2002.

A commitment of the historical Assam Accord, the bridge was sanctioned by the Centre in 1997-98 and it was expected to be completed by the end of the Ninth Five Year Plan. In 2007, the government declared the project as national project.

"I feel Atal ji had done a lot for the North-East as a Prime Minister. The best way to pay tribute to the visionary leader will be to name the Bogibeel Bridge as Atal Setu," said Phukan while interacting with media in Dibrugarh on Friday.

"I am going to meet Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal soon with a formal request so that he convinces the Centre to name the Bridge as Atal Setu," said Phukan, adding the government should also inaugurate the Bridge on December 25, the date commemorating the birth of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The design of Bogibeel Bridge has 39 spans of 125 m and a superstructure of composite welded steel truss and reinforced concrete.

It is designed to carry a double line 1,676 mm (5 ft-6 inches) broad gauge railway on the lower deck and a 3-lane road on the upper deck.

Upon completion it will be the longest combined rail and road bridge in India and second longest bridge over the Brahmaputra after Dhola-Sadiya Bridge which is a road bridge of 9.15 km length.

The construction work of 4.94 km long bridge is likely to be completed by October this year. The bridge once completed will ramp up logistical movement of armed forces in Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China.

Although civil work on Bogibeel bridge has been completed, but electrical and signalling work remains to be completed. The bridge is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by December this year.

--IANS

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