On February 18, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched the ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ programme & laid the foundation stone for 2 Bridges ‘Dhubri-Phulbari’ bridge which is set to be India’s Longest Bridge & ‘Majuli’ Bridge in Assam.
- PM Modi also launched 2 e-portals namely Car-D & PANI for promoting Ease of Doing Business and also laid foundation stone for North Esat’s 1st National data centre at Guwahati
- The 19.282 Km ‘Dhubri Phulbari’ 4-lane bridge will connect Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya. It will be constructed on the River of Brahmaputra.
- ‘Majuli’ Bridge is an 8 Km long Two-Lane bridge on the River Brahmaputra, it will connect Neematighat (on Jorhat side) & Kamalabari (on Majuli side).
‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ Programme
This program will strengthen water connectivity across the region through the waters of the River Brahmaputra & Barak. The Total cost of the programme is INR 3, 231 Crore.
Initiatives under the Programme
Ro-Pax Services
- The Launch of the programme was marked by inauguration of Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati & Dhubri-Hatsingimari.
- Ro-Pax operation between Neamati and Majuli will reduce the total distance of 420 Km currently being travelled by vehicles to only 12 Km.
- The Ro-Pax Services will reduce the travel time by providing connectivity between the banks of rivers.
- Two indigenously procured Ro-Pax vessels, namely, M.V. Rani Gaidinliu and M.V. Sachin Dev Burman, shall become operational.
- 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 Ro-Pax services will benefit the Small-scale industries of the region.
Permanent Inland Water Terminal at Jogighopa
- PM Modi laid the foundation stone for construction of a permanent Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Jogighopa, Assam.
- It will reduce traffic on Siliguri Corridor towards Kolkata & Haldia.
- It will facilitate uninterrupted movement of cargo to North Eastern States like Meghalaya, Tripura and to neighbouring countries like Bhutan & Bangladesh even during the flood season.
Tourist Jetties
- He also laid the foundation stone for construction of Tourist Jetties at 4 Locations namely Neamati, Biswanath Ghat, Pandu & Jogighopa. Ministry of Tourism is set to provide a Financial Assistance of INR 9.41 Crores for the construction of Inland Water Terminals.
- The Jetties will promote River Cruise Tourism and boost Local employment & business in the region.
e-Portals for Ease of Doing Business
PM Modi also launched 2 e-portals namely Car-D (Cargo Data) & PANI (Portal for Asset and Navigation Information) for promoting Ease of Doing Business.
- Car-D Portal will collect Cargo and Cruise Data of the National Waterway on a real time basis.
- PANI portal will act as a single platform for providing all information regarding river navigation and infrastructure.
North East’s 1st National Data Centre at Guwahati
- He laid the Foundation Stone for the Construction of North East’s First National Data Centre (NDC-NER) at Guwahati, Assam. The total cost of the Data Centre would be INR 350 Crore.
- It will act as data center hub for 8 states & IT service based industry, BPO ecosystem, Startups in North East (including Assam)
- It will be established by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and funds will be provided by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Dhubri Phulbari Bridge
- The proposed 4-Lane bridge over the Brahmaputra river will connect Dhubri (Assam) & Phulbari (Meghalaya). At a length of 19.282 Km, It is set to be India’s Longest Bridge.
- The bridge will reduce the distance of 205 Kms between Meghalaya & Assam to 19 kms (which is the total length of the bridge).
- The bridge will improve connectivity in the Barak Valley and reduce the distance between Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram & Assam.
- The bridge is being built at a cost of ~ INR 4997 Crore and works on the bridge are expected to be completed by 2026-27.
Majuli-Jorhat Bridge:
PM Modi laid Foundation Stone for the 8 Km long Two-Lane bridge on the River Brahmaputra between Majuli & Jorhat of Assam.
- The bridge will connect Nimati ghat (on Jorhat side) & Kamalabari (on Majuli side).
- Majuli is India’s 1st Island district & World’s biggest river island, the bridge will help in better connectivity between Majuli & the mainland of Assam.
Recent Related News:
i.On August 24, 2020, India’s Longest River Ropeway namely ‘Guwahati Passenger Ropeway Project’ connecting the Northern and Southern banks of the Brahmaputra River was inaugurated by the Assam State Minister of Finance, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Guwahati Development Department(GDD) Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya.
ii.On November 2, 2020, Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal and Ambassador of Israel to India Ron Malka laid the foundation stone of Rs. 10.33 crore Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence for Vegetables Protected Cultivation at Khetri on the outskirts of Guwahati.
About Assam:
Rivers – Jiadhal, Barak
Tribes – Bodo, Karbi, Deori
