Marking the third anniversary of the NDA government at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the country's longest river bridge -- the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge over the Brahmaputra river in Assam -- and dedicated it to the people of the nation.The 9.15 km long bridge between Dhola and Sadiya in Assam's Tinsukia district will not only shorten the distance between the state and Arunachal Pradesh by 165 km but will also reduce the travel time between the two states by five hours.Besides giving a major boost to tourism, this over Rs 950 crore bridge also assumes strategic significance given its position vis-a-vis the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. The new bridge across the Lohit river that can withstand the weight of 60-tonne battle tanks, will provide easy access to the Indian Army to reach the country's eastern borders.Modi inaugurated the bridge by cutting a red ribbon and walking a few meters on it. He waved to the hundreds of people waiting there.
The Prime Minister, accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Union Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, travelled in a cavalcade on the bridge for about two km towards Sadiya before returning to Dhola.Earlier on Friday, on the third anniversary of his taking over as the Prime Minister, Modi arrived here on a day-long visit with the launch of several new projects in the state on his itinerary.Besides the Chief Minister and Governor, several other dignitaries were present at the Dibrugarh airport to receive the Prime Minister. Soon after his arrival, Modi left for Dhola to inaugurate the river bridge.After inaugurating the bridge, Modi was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at Gogamukh. From Gogamukh, Modi will head to Guwahati, where at the Sarusojai stadium in Changsari he will inaugurate the All India Institute of Medical Sciences project in Tezpur through remote.Later in the afternoon, Modi will attend a public rally in Guwahati celebrating the successful completion of three years of the NDA government at the Centre and one year of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state.