Naming the bridge

Assam has no shortage of reasons to trigger off an agitation. The latest example is the naming of the fifth bridge across the Brahmaputra, the one that is currently referred to as the Bogibeel Bridge. The 4.94-km bridge which has 42 piers with the depth of the foundation standing at a little over 58 metres, is going to be the longest rail-cum-road bridge in the country, which has been completed at a cost of about Rs 5000 crore. In indeed is another engineering marvel that the Northeast Frontier Railway has executed, for which its engineers and workforce deserve great appreciation.

When opened for traffic, it is going to have a huge positive impact on the economy of the region, more particularly for Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. While travel time between the north bank and south bank will be reduced by several hours now that people don’t have to take a detour through Tezpur and Kaliabor, people of the south-eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh will reach the state capital in less than one-third of travel time they have been enduring so long. Railway movement between Tinsukia and Naharlagun, and for that matter the northern Assam districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath and Sonitpur, will be shorter and faster.

Movement of road transport will also become smoother and easier. Patients from the north bank will have faster access to the Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh, while more students from the north bank districts will be able to pursue higher education in Dibrugarh University. Likewise social interaction between people on both sides too will increase.

What is most important is the impact on local economy. Though no organisation or agency has come out with the likely economic benefits that the new bridge is waiting to trigger off, past experience in case of the earlier bridges across the mighty river has proved that a whole lot of economic activities is waiting to take off once the bridge is opened. But what has been seen as a disturbing trend is the row over naming the bridge. While it is a fact that the bridge has to be given a name, and while it is a fact that different organisations have put up their respective demands, it is for the government to take an early decision in this respect. Those groups in Assam which are in a mood to agitate over the naming of the bridge must also keep in mind that the bridge is going to bring more benefits to people of Arunachal Pradesh than to those in the home state.