Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday expressed his disappointment at not being invited for the inauguration of Bogibeel Bridge, the country’s longest rail cum road 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.
Notably, the Bogibeel Bridge got the government nod during the regime of H D De Gowda and when Ram Bilas Pawan was the Union Railway Minister.
During a media interaction in Bengaluru on the sidelines of a function, Deve Gowda said he had given the nod for many projects including the railway line to Kashmir and Delhi Metro, apart from the Bogibeel Bridge.
The former Prime Minister on a sarcastic note said who has the time and audacity to remember his now.
On the inordinate delay in completing the project, Deve Gowda said that he had compelted the Hassan-Mysuru project in 13 months.
He also said that he had completed two bridges on time.
The rail cum road bridge Bogibeel Bridge connects Assam’s Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts, bordering Arunachal Pradesh.