Cabinet approves plan for key bridge in Bihar

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of a 4.56 km long, six-lane bridge on river Ganga, connecting Digha and Sonepur in Bihar, Union minister Anurag Thakur said.

The Cabinet also approved the renovation and widening of a 135 km stretch of Khowai-Harina road in Tripura, to facilitate better road connectivity between various parts of the northeast state and to provide alternative access to Assam and Meghalaya from Tripura, apart from existing NH-8.

Speaking on the construction of the bridge on river Ganga, during a Cabinet briefing, Thakur said: “Bihar has great potential and PM Modi has always given various big projects for the development of the state. Bihar was, is and will remain a priority for the Modi government.”

The bridge, he said, will be built at a cost of ₹3,064.45 crore.

Digha (situated at Patna and the south bank of the Ganga River) and Sonepur (north bank of the Ganga River in Saran district) are presently connected by a rail-cum-road bridge for the movement of light vehicles only, restricting its use for transportation of goods and commodities.

The bridge will also improve connectivity for Vaishali, Kesariya, Areraj, Chapra, Motihari and Bettiah, Thakur said.

On the road widening project in Tripura, the Union minister said it will ease travel between Assam and Tripura and also improve connectivity between north and south Tripura.

“The project involves investment of ₹2,486.78 crore which includes a loan component of ₹1,511.70 crore,” an official statement said. The loan assistance will be from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) scheme, it added.