Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday inaugurated the 15.447 km Dibrugarh Bypass from Bogibeel Junction to Bakul during a programme held at Japisajia in Dibrugarh.

The construction of the realignment of the National Highway-37 from Bogibeel Junction at KM 581.700 to KM 597.147 on Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been implemented by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

The project was constructed at a cost of Rs. 96.84 crore.

Chief minister Sonowal as a part of the project also inaugurated a railway overbridge on the stipulated stretch.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said the present Narendra Modi-led central government after assuming power in 2014 took the initiatives of bringing about revolutionary changes in the connectivity of the country especially in the Northeast.

He said the Centre realising that a region no matter how prosperous it is cannot prosper without seamless connectivity, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari under the leadership of PM Modi brought about policy changes.

As result, Sonowal said, Assam along with other Northeastern states have witnessed Rs. 3 lakh crore investment in the road sector.

The Assam CM thanked Union minister Gadkari on behalf of 3.5 crore people of the state.

Sonowal said contrary to 60 years of rule of the Congress, the BJP-led central government has brought about unprecedented changes in the last six years.

He also attributed AIIMS at Changsari, Indian Agricultural Research Centre at Gogamukh, Indian Institute of Design at Jorhat, Multi-modal Logistic Hub at Jogighopa to the goodwill and sincerity of the central government.

He said the people of Assam had to resort to agitation for a single bridge over the Brahmaputra.

However, now under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the central Government has approved the construction of five new bridges over the river.

Sonowal said the amount of works performed by the present state government over the last 4.5 years becomes clear if anybody does a comparative analysis between the performance of the present BJP-led government and the previous Congress governments in the state.

He also said in the last 15 years, the Lok Nirman department has constructed more than 15,000 km road, besides conversion of more than 1,000 wooden bridges into concrete bridges.

He also said his government has constructed roads using pavers block in all the 850 tea gardens of the state.

He said the Dibrugarh Bypass will help in beautification, development of the historic Dibrugarh town.

Speaking on the occasion, Union minister of state for food processing Rameswar Teli said the synergy between the central and state governments has resulted in an unprecedented development in communication and transportation of the state.

Avik Chakraborty is Northeast Now Correspondent in Dibrugarh. He can be reached at: [email protected]