One of the impediments to economic growth of the Northeast is lack of connectivity. The Northeast has been waiting for the obstacle to be removed for the last 16 years. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated Bogibeel Bridge in Assam, India’s largest railroad and double-decker bridge to the nation. With this, travel between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has been further eased. The 4.9 km long bridge cuts the five hour 212 km travel time from Dibrugarh to Itanagar by ferry to barely three hours on ground. The Prime Minister also flagged off the Tinsukia-Naharlagun train service via the new route on the Bogibeel bridge. It will cut train travel between Tinsukia and Naharlagun by over ten hours. The Bridge is also for the purpose of bolstering India’s defence capability along the China border. People can now travel to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru direct from Northern Assam and Eastern Arunachal Pradesh without passing through Guwahati.
Almost two lakh people came to witness the inauguration of the bridge as Modi reiterated the NDA government’s commitment to develop connectivity in the region. He claimed that in the last four and a half years the Centre has stressed connectivity in the North East along with completing pending projects speedily. Modi referred to the lackadaisical.attitude of previous governments which thwarted development of the North Eastern region. He reiterated that on assuming power, his government completed more than half the projects in just four and a half years. He said that if his government had held office earlier, the Bridge could have been commissioned long ago. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister said that now his state could move shoulder to shoulder with other states.
Whatever may have been the pace of progress in the last decade, people of the North Eastern states can now look forward to expeditious development of the regional economy. Connectivity is not the only problem but it is a major problem. Movement of goods and food products which takes weeks to reach Arunachal Pradesh or Mizoram by road would now take lesser time by train. There is of course a clash of interests between the states vis-a-vis the contested boundaries between Assam and Meghalaya, Assam and Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram and Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. There is also militancy especially in Assam and Nagaland. That remains unsolved. Besides, there is a problem of citizenship in Assam. When will influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh be halted and how? This is the most tormenting question for the region.