Rail link yet to be finalised for new Brahmaputra bridge

Guwahati, Apr 7(UNI) Controversy over declaring the new road bridge over the Brahmaputra in Guwahati , parallel to the existing rail-road Saraighat bridge, as a rail-cum-road still persists even a day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lays its foundation.

Dr Singh will lay the foundation of the road bridge tomorrow on the first day of his two-day visit to Asom.

The new bridge, parallel to the Saraighat bridge, was being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) as part of the 'East-West Corridor'.

The East-West Corridor was being developed as a four-lane one that led to the need of construction of a new bridge over the Brahmaputra.

The existing Saraighat bridge, which was opened to traffic in 1962, is a two-lane rail-cum-road bridge and it could not be converted into a four-lane.

Though the new bridge was a welcome project for the state, the non-addition of a rail link to the proposed bridge has created dissidence in the state, with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi also taking up the issue with the Prime Minister.

Various organisations, including the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), Asom Unnati Sabha, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad and the Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive), have demanded that the new bridge be provided with a rail link.

AASU advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya said, ''The proposed bridge should be made into a rail-cum-road bridge. Asom can not hope to get a separate rail bridge if the road bridge is constructed.'' ''The actual work of the bridge can be started a few months later if planning for constructing it as a rail-cum-road bridge is worked out,'' he added.

The Chief Minister's letter to Union Surface Transport Minister T R Baalu has drawn a positive response, official sources here informed.

Mr Baalu had informed Mr Gogoi that his ministry had got in touch with the Railway ministry in this regard and ''the Railways have informed us that the technical feasibility exists for the construction of a railway bridge along with the proposed road bridge.'' The Chief Minister had been pursuing the matter at different levels, including the Prime Minister, Union Surface Minister and Railways Minister though any announcement was yet to be made.

UNI