Prez Murmu, PM Modi, Rahul greet states, UTs on formation day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi also extended their heartfelt greetings on the occasion.
Former Prime Minister and JDS chief HD Deve Gowda on Tuesday said he was disappointed at not being invited for the inauguration of the country’s longest railroad bridge in Assam though he had laid the foundation stone of it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 4.9 km long bridge at Bogibeel across Brahmaputra river, built at a cost of around Rs. 5,900 Crore.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by Gowda when he was the prime minister in 1997.
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“Railway line to Kashmir, Delhi Metro and Bogibeel Railroad Bridge were among the projects I had sanctioned (as prime minister). I had sanctioned the budget of Rs. 100 crore for each of these projects and laid their foundation stones. People have forgotten today,” Gowda said.
Replying to a question from reporters on the sidelines of a function as to how he felt about the inauguration of the project started by him, the former prime minister said he had given the nod for many projects.
To a question whether he received an invitation, Gowda quipped, “Aiyo Rama! Who will remember me? Some newspapers might have mentioned it.”
On the delay in completing the project, he said, “That is where I differ. I completed the Hassan-Mysuru project in 13 months. I completed two bridges on time. Anagwadi bridge (across Ghataprabha). Go and see the bridge on Krishna river.
“Some people from Bombay-Karnataka region say that Deve Gowda did not do anything (for the north Karnataka region), go and see it,” he added.
The railroad bridge spans the waters of the Brahmaputra River. Bogibeel bridge will connect Assam’s Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts, bordering Arunachal Pradesh. It will cut the travel time between the two points by four hours and help avoid a 170-km detour.
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