Bridging the Brahmaputra: Bogibeel reshapes Assam-Arunachal link ahead of polls

Bogibeel, Assam: Connectivity between the North and South banks of the river Brahmaputra in the eastern part of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh took a giant leap with the opening of the road-cum-rail Bogibeel bridge link over seven years ago. It provided immediate connectivity to the two districts of Dibrugarh and Dhemaji.

The bridge, comprising a double line broad gauge track and three-lane road, is located about 17 Km downstream of Dibrugarh city in Assam. The length of the bridge was increased to 4.94 km from 4.31 km. The sanctioned estimated cost was ₹3,230 crore which was later revised to ₹4,857 crore.

Bogibeel bridge was declared a national project in 2007. Sanctioned in 1997-98, the foundation stone of the project was laid by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on January 22, 1997. Work commenced under the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on April 21, 2002.


The bridge was finally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25, 2018.

Arunachal Pradesh districts of Anjaw, Changlang, Lohit, Lower Dibang Valley, Dibang Valley, and Tirap hugely benefited from the bridge. It reduced the road distance from Dibrugarh to Arunachal's capital city of Itanagar by 150 km while cutting the railway travel distance by 705 km.

Dhemaji is currently booming with business activity while the increased accessibility to Arunachal Pradesh is spurring tourism in the region.

"It was an ordeal to come from Dhemaji to Dibrugarh," said Himakshi Das, a resident of Dhemaji. "It was a combination of jeep drive besides boat rides and braving the sand from sandbars to reach Dibrugarh. It was a treacherous journey of four hours or more." Dibrugarh is also witnessing a surge in real estate activity, helped by the improved connectivity. The city, being an educational hub, is also drawing a large number of students.

"It was one of the most talked about topics in college days of ours if the two banks will ever be joined," said Achinta Hazarika, a resident of Dibrugarh. "Ferries getting stranded in sands and the tough journey are something which was the tale of people who used to cross the banks. Post opening of the bridge, retail financial activity has gained impetus, people from Arunachal Pradesh visit and source their requirements from Dibrugarh."

The bridge is also expected to boost security of India's Northeast by facilitating swift movement of military personnel and equipment.