India opens its longest river bridge in NE state of Assam

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country's longest river bridge, the Dhola-Sadia Bridge, in the northeastern state of Assam on Friday.

With Indian Highways and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari by his side, Modi threw open the 9.15-kilometer-long bridge in the state's Tinsukia district at around 10:45 a.m. local time, after which his motorcade traveled on it.

"I will be in Assam tomorrow to take part in various programs. I am eagerly awaiting this opportunity to interact with people of Assam," Modi tweeted Thursday night.

Launched a decade ago, the three-lane bridge was built over Lohit river, which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra river, and is among a series of infrastructure projects which Modi has fast-tracked since assuming office after a landslide win in 2014 general elections.

With northeastern India being a high-seismic region, the bridge was built using state-of-the-art equipment, including imported hydraulic rigs, and seismic buffers have been provided in all its 182 piers, officials said Thursday.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)