NEW DELHI, Aug 3 - The Centre on Thursday confirmed the proposed construction of a bridge between Majuli and Jorhat, stating that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in this regard is being prepared by the State Public Works Department (PWD).
Union Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan said the construction of a bridge connecting Majuli and Jorhat has been approved �in-principle� by the Ministry, subject to the outcome of the DPR to be prepared by the State PWD. The preparation of the DPR has been initiated by the PWD by engaging a DPR consultant, said the Minister in Parliament in reply to a question by Kamakhya Prasad Tasa.
In reply to a separate question, which was posed by Ramen Deka, Radhakrishnan said that Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS) have been established at four locations of Assam � Dhubri, Jogighopa, Silghat and Dibrugarh � to give the accurate position of the navigable channel along the NW-2. The NW-2 is already operational.
The river Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya was declared as National Waterway-2 (NW-2) in 1988. Thereafter, the NW-2 has been developed with fairway channel in the Dhubri-Neamati, Neamati-Dibrugarh and Dibrugarh-Sadiya stretches for shipping and navigation. The fairway depths required in these stretches have been ensured through maintenance dredging, river training and conservancy works, which are carried out on a regular basis.
In reply to a question by Badruddin Ajmal, the Minister said that the DPR for construction of the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge over the Brahmaputra to connect Assam and Meghalaya is under preparation by the National Highway and Infrastructure Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). The draft DPR is presently under examination in consultation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
It is too early to specify the time by when the project and rehabilitation of affected people is likely to start, as it will depend on the acceptance of DPR by JICA, Radhakrishnan pointed out. A project for construction of 15 floating terminals of 17m length in the Brahmaputra was sanctioned by the Ministry of Shipping on June 2, 2014, at an estimated cost of Rs 6.07 crore.
Under a Central Sector Scheme for development of inland water transport infrastructure in the Northeastern region, 100 per cent financial assistance is provided by the Shipping Ministry to the state governments concerned, he said.
In addition, a proposal submitted by the Govt of Assam for construction of 15 numbers of 17m-long floating terminals in the river Barak was received in December 2016 and it is being examined by the Ministry of Shipping. Another proposal, for construction of 25 such floating terminals in the Brahmaputra, was received in June this year, he said.
