Gandhi Setu bridge on Ganga in Patna

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Gandhi Setu, Patna. Pic courtesy Wikipedia

NK SINGH

MLAs and MLCs from north Bihar have raised their voice against the construction of the proposed Ganga bridge at the Sabalpur site in Patna. They want a bridge at Mahendrughat.

The plan for the Sabalpur bridge was made after detailed investigations an on the recommendation of the Central Water and Power Research Station, Poona, and foreign consultants.

The Ganga river divides Bihar into two parts. North Bihar, almost 20,000 sq miles has a population of 2.18 crore. But due to transport difficulties it remains unconnected and underdeveloped.

To some extent the problem was solved after the construction of the Rajendra bridge at Mokama but an area of 265 miles between Banaras and Mokama remains blank.

The demand for the bridge is old. In March 1913, the Legislative Council of  Bihar and Odisha made a proposal but it was turned down by the East Indian Railway Company.

While UP’s 600-mile-long Ganga areas has got six bridges, the 300-mile-long Ganga area of Bihar has only one.

Excerpts from Frontier 21 June 1969

NK Singh's report on the first road bridge over Ganga near Patna, published in Frontier of 21 June 1969.

To read PDF of the article please click on the link below:


Former Resident Editor, Hindustan Times, Indian Express; Editor, Dainik Bhaskar, Peoples Samachar; Associate Editor, India Today; Sub-editor, Nai Dunia, The Hitavada, Pratipaksha, Secular Democracy

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