Connecting the Missing Links in Northeast India: A Review of Bogibeel Bridge

Abstract

Bogibeel rail cum road bridge across the river Brahmaputra near Dibrugarh was commissioned in December2018 and has completed three years of operation. The article examines both the domestic and international context of this project. Internal factors like the Assam Accord, various civil society initiatives, and government efforts play a significant role. The international context of reorientation of Indian foreign policy in the aftermath of the cold war in the 1990s and the rising belligerence of China which led to the Look East and Act East policies are analysed. The article focuses on the Bogibeel project with specific reference to the development of connectivity in the NE region as a part of Act East Policy. Further, it assesses the impact of the new bridge on connectivity in upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in its various dimensions such as a change in patterns of railway operations, road connectivity vis-a-vis ferry services, and impact on military related movements. Possible future development of inland water transport along NW2 is briefly indicated.

Keywords: Act East Policy, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bogibeel Bridge, Look East Policy, Northeast India, Railway Connectivity.

Introduction

“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across “is a quote often attributed to Sun Tzu, the high priest of the art of war, although his actual precept was only to leave an opening for the enemy to withdraw[1]. History is replete with examples underscoring the strategic importance of bridges to warfare. But bridges have a much more enduring and crucial role in daily life. They provide cost-effective, better, and easy connectivity, apart from unequivocally boosting overall economic growth and development. Bogibeel bridge across the river Brahmaputra near Dibrugarh in Assam was commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 December 2018 and has since completed three years of operation is a case in point.

The bridge got sanctioned in the railway budget of 1996-97. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in January 1997 but the actual construction work was inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee only in April 2002. This is a double-deck rail-cum-road bridge 4.94 Km in length constructed for North East Frontier Railway by a consortium led by Hindustan Construction Company. A network of 74 Km connecting railway lines and road approaches was developed simultaneously[2]. The bridge provides connectivity between the north bank and south bank of the Brahmaputra in upper Assam, particularly between Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts. After Saraighat bridge near Guwahati which was commissioned in 1962 and Narnarayan Setu near Jogighopa commissioned in 1997, this is the third rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra. In addition, there are three purely road bridges i.e. New Saraighat near Guwahati, Kaliabhomora near Tezpur, and Dhola Sadiya (Bhupen Hazarika Setu) near Sadiya across the river.

The genesis of many connectivity projects (both rail and road) in the North-East (NE) region lies in its geographical peculiarities and geopolitical location and the immediacy of Chinese challenges from across the border. The domestic and international factors need to be considered for an in-depth analysis of the importance of the Bogibeel bridge and many other connectivity projects in the region.

In the aftermath of the 1962 Indo-China war, the Army HQ instituted a comprehensive review of the reverses suffered by the army during the conflict. The review was carried out by Lt. Gen. Henderson Brooks assisted by Brig. P.S. Bhagat. The report has not been officially made public, but it is available in the public domain. The review was done in five specific verticals, i.e. training, equipment, the system of command, fitness of troops, and ability of commanders to motivate the troops. The report did mention the need to upgrade road infrastructure in the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) as it then was, but it did not suggest fording the Brahmaputra in upper Assam to improve logistics support to the forward units[3]. This may be because the Saraighat rail-cum-road bridge was already complete and freight traffic started on 31 October 1962. Construction of the second road bridge across the Brahmaputra commenced in 1981 and the Kalia Bhomora Setu near Tezpur, connecting Sonitpur district on the north bank with Nagaon district on the south bank was commissioned in 1987.

From 1979 to 1985 Assam witnessed agitations spearheaded by the All-Assam Students Union (AASU) against illegal immigrants and the consequent threat to Assamese social and cultural identity. This agitation underscored the lack of economic development in Assam. A Memorandum of Understanding, the Assam Accord was signed on 15 August 1985 between the Government of India led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and AASU. The accord provided many commitments regarding illegal immigrants, border management, protection of Assamese identity, etc. The accords Clause 7 provided for the economic development of the state. It says “The Government takes this opportunity to renew their commitment for the speedy all-round economic development of Assam, so as to improve the standard of living of the people. Special emphasis will be placed on education and science and technology through the establishment of national institutions.”4 Following this accord, many projects in the state received fresh impetus. Apart from this domestic background, a larger international context needs to be taken into consideration to understand the focus on greater connectivity infrastructure in the NE region.

The withering away of the Soviet Union in the 1990s led to the end of the cold war that propelled a transformation in India's foreign policy. The traditional policy of non-alignment was fast losing its relevance in the post- Soviet world order and India was in search of alternative regional partners. The post-cold war period also witnessed a shift in global economic orientation, reckoning with that India strategically embarked on the wave of economic reforms and liberalisation. The tiger economies of ASEAN nations were growing too fast. Policymakers in New Delhi viewed this as a big opportunity to forge economic linkages with them which would be advantageous for India’s economic growth. Another reason for “Looking East” was to contain China’s rise in Asia. In the period 1978 to 1992 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping China pursued the policy of Modernisation by opening up to the world markets and by bringing overall reforms in the economic system. Consequently, these reforms helped in China’s transformation from an underdeveloped Asian country to an economic giant whose aggressive behaviour in the region was perceived as a threat by Indian policymakers.

India’s ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ Policy –A Reorientation of Foreign Policy

The changing global dynamics in the early 1990s as well as the various domestic factors resulted in a shift from the west to a new broad Eastward reorientation of India’s foreign policy termed as the ‘Look East Policy’ (LEP). Under LEP, India deepened its diplomatic, economic, and cultural connections with Southeast Asian countries. In 1992 India became the sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN for research and collaboration in trade, tourism, and science and technology and further on became a member of the ASEAN regional forum in 1996. India’s engagement with ASEAN advanced in 2002 when it became the summit level partner followed by a strategic partner in 2012. Since then, Southeast Asia has become a significant integrant of India’s foreign policy.

The LEP brought the landlocked NE region in sharp focus not only because of the unsettled border with China but also because of its potential in connecting to ASEAN and beyond. Yet LEP had certain limitations; it broadly was successful in terms of India’s overall economic growth and trade connectivity, but the flip side was that these economic benefits were not fully percolated in NE. Besides, the larger cause of concern for India was China's huge foreign direct investment in ASEAN during this period coupled with China rolling out a vast network of connectivity projects under its “One Belt One Road (OBOR)” policy and the Maritime Silk Road policy. With massive investment in the connectivity projects China’s international trade footprints are expected to expand from Central Asia, Europe, and through the Indo-Pacific region. Moreover, China’s assertiveness in the South China sea is discerned by New Delhi as a geopolitical challenge.

To overcome the limitations of LEP whilst giving a fresh impetus to India’s engagement with Asia-Pacific and to deal with the geopolitical challenges posed by China the ‘Look East Policy’ was rebranded as ‘Act East Policy’ (AEP) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. It was an assertive stand of Prime Minister Modi to act to strengthen the cultural, economic, and strategic ties with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region through the AEP. The policy lays special emphasis on developing infrastructure in the geostrategically important North Eastern Region (NER) and enhancing its connectivity with neighbouring South-East Asia region. The genesis and fast-tracking of multiple land, water, and air connectivity projects in the NE region including the ‘Bogibeel bridge’ are thus directly linked to AEP.

Bogibeel Bridge-Transforming Connectivity

Bogibeel bridge constructed over the river Brahmaputra is the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India. Due to its location, it is of strategically immense importance to India as it has developed connectivity to remote areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

In the 1962 India-China war, the Chinese army had reached Bomdila, just about 150 km from Tezpur, Assam. One of the impediments to the delayed response of the Indian army then was the poor infrastructure in this region. The war was seen as an existential threat to Arunachal Pradesh and Assam; the fallout was the demand by the people to construct bridges at Dibrugarh and Tezpur. Further, the idea of fording the Brahmaputra beyond Tezpur in the upper reaches near Dibrugarh gathered momentum in the late 1970s. Dibrugarh Nagarik Sangha was amongst the first civil organisations which demanded a bridge across the Brahmaputra at Dibrugarh vide their six consecutive memoranda from 1977 to 1980. Another organisation, the Purvanchal Nagrik Samiti also submitted a memorandum to the then Railway Minister C.K. Jafar Sharif in 1994. Many other organisations from districts of upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh kept up this demand[5]. Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), the party born out of AASU agitation had joined the National Front government led by Prime Minister Deve Gowda. The Members of Parliament (MP) of AGP lobbied hard with Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to include the project in the railway budget for 1996-97[6] Initially, a meagre provision of Rs. 2 crores was made for detailed investigation and location survey[7]. The Government affirmed their commitment to Bogibeel bridge again in the next year’s Railway budget and indicated Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route for implementation. The MPs from Assam continued to pressure the governments of the day through regular parliamentary questions after the project was announced in the budget. The issue of slow progress on the Bogibeel project was raised at least 13 times in the tenures of XIII to XVI Lok Sabha.8 During the XIV Lok Sabha, AGP MP Dr. A.K.Sarma raised the matter eight times in the house[9].

Following Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s announcement of ‘New Initiatives for the North-Eastern Region’ during his visit to NE at Guwahati on 27 October 1996, a high-Level Commission was constituted under the Chairmanship of S.P.Shukla, Member, Planning Commission. One of the terms of reference for the Commission was “to critically examine the gaps in important sectors of infrastructure development in the North-Eastern Region, especially in power communication, railways, roads, education, agriculture, etc”. Regarding railways, the commission recommended “full funding for expeditious completion of the present clutch of sanctioned projects already underway, including the Bogibeel bridge”[10].

Almost a decade after the Shukla commission report, “North Eastern Vision 2020” was prepared by the North Eastern Council on 13 May 2008. It stated that “the purpose of this Vision document is to return the North Eastern Region to the position of national economic eminence it held till a few decades ago; to so fashion the development process that growth springs from and spreads out to the grassroots; and to ensure that the Region plays the arrow-head role it must play in the vanguard of the country’s Look East Policy”[11]. The linkage between the Look East policy and the development of domestic connectivity was underlined in the document. It states “Infrastructure and connectivity could support the Look East Policy and provide an impetus to trade with the Eastern part of the globe. Although the policy has been in place for a decade and a half and has benefited the rest of the country appreciably, the NER has gained very little”. The document recognised the importance of expeditious completion of the Bogibeel bridge. The project was awarded the status of “National Project” in 2008 and thereafter the construction gathered pace.

Impact on Indian Railways

On 25 December 2021, the bridge completed three years of operation. The most dramatic effect of the bridge can be seen in the change in the operational pattern of freight and passenger trains in upper Assam. The railway network in Assam was of metre gauge vintage till the 1980s and the broad-gauge network extended only up to Bongaigaon. Gauge conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge happened rapidly under Project Unigauge executed by Indian Railways (IR). As of today, all the network in Assam and NE region is broad gauge, thus providing seamless connectivity with the rest of the IR network. There remained one glaring weakness in this network, i.e., the lack of a rail bridge across the Brahmaputra except the one at Saraighat near Guwahati. Thus, the two broad parts of the network on the south and north bank lacked any connection north of Rangiya, where the line to Saraighat bifurcated. This weakness was partially addressed with the construction of the second rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra at Jogighopa, the Narnarayan setu which was commissioned in 1997. This bridge is also to the west of Guwahati and the lack of connection between the south and the north banks eastwards of Guwahati persisted. Bogibeel, the third rail-cum-road bridge has finally provided that missing link and strengthened the railway connectivity in Upper Assam and the entire NE region.

With three connections across the Brahmaputra, the IR network in the NE region is now well integrated and with ongoing projects of doubling and electrification of existing major routes, it will grow more robust in the future. The freight traffic, mainly food grains procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from North India and fertilisers are now moving via the Bogibeel bridge instead of via Guwahati before the bridge was commissioned. The petroleum products from refineries at Numaligarh and Digboi and coal from Tirap valley are also moving from upper Assam to eastern India via Bogibeel. Since the bridge was commissioned in December 2018 till August 2022, IR has moved 3480 goods trains, both loaded and empty, via the Bogibeel bridge. Assuming a 40:60 split of loaded and empty trains and a payload of 66 metric tonnes per wagon, it is estimated that approximately 4.4 million tonnes of freight have moved across Bogibeel by railways in this period. This has helped to decongest the network on the south bank and generate capacity for the introduction of services to Manipur and Nagaland. At the same time, it has improved the utilisation of the network on the north bank. Similar benefits can be seen in passenger services also. Earlier, the districts of Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, and Dhemaji did not have any direct rail connectivity with the rest of the country except via Rangiya and Guwahati. Now, by diverting a few services via Bogibeel direct connectivity from these districts to Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai has been established. Rail connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh has also improved significantly with the commencement of direct passenger services from Naharlagun near Itanagar to Tinsukia via Bogibeel[12].

IR had commissioned a new facility at Gumto in Arunachal Pradesh to handle Petroleum Oil and Lubricant (POL) products of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)13and another facility at Archipathar to handle food grain procured by FCI.14 These facilities, although developed independently of Bogibeel, will benefit from improved connectivity due to Bogibeel. Presently, a new line from Murkongselek to Pasighat is sanctioned, the construction of which is expected to commence soon. This line will further improve connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh from the north and south bank of Brahmaputra.

Impact on Ferry Services and Road Transport

The bridge has changed travel mode preference in the area profoundly. The Assam State Transport Corporation immediately upon commissioning the bridge started ten pairs of bus services connecting destinations on both the banks. The Arunachal State Transport, too, started Pasighat to Dibrugarh service on 4 January 2019. The only connection till then was the ferry services.

The Inland Water Transport Department of Assam had authorised ferry services on the Brahmaputra to facilitate the movement of people and small vehicles across the river at several locations. Seven locations provided connectivity between Dibrugarh on the south bank and Dhemaji district on the north bank viz. Bogibeel-Karengbali, Dibrugarh-Machkhowa, Dibrugarh- Sissi, Dibrugarh-Majorbari, Dibrugarh-Oriumghat, Dibrugarh- Panbari and Bogibeel-Sissi-Kalghar[15]

According to the data given by the Department of Inland Water Transport, Government of Assam for Financial Year 2017-18, the Bogibeel-Karengbali service was the most popular with traffic of 7,73,982 persons and 89,020 vehicles and fetched a revenue of Rs. 5,42,15327.16 Data for the subsequent period, i.e, after commissioning of Bogibeel bridge is not yet available but various newspaper and media reports document the near-total closure of these services as the public started commuting by road. According to a report in the Hindustan Times dated 25 December 2018, “government-operated boats charged Rs.18 per person, Rs.800 for small cars and Rs.1,000 for SUVs, the privately-operated boats charge way more for ferrying people and vehicles between Bogibeel ghat and Kareng Ghat in Dhemaji district “and the journey time was 45 minutes to 1 hour. The door-to-door journey time from Dibrugarh to Dhemaji would be in the range of 3 to 4 hours via the ferry. Today, direct bus service has cut down the travel time it typically takes 1 hour 30 minutes, and the fare is in the range of Rs.130 to 150 depending upon the bus. The two-wheeler riders are too directly using the bridge and saving travel time. The government of Assam in the state budget for Financial Year 2019-20 announced a relief package of Rs. 5 crores for about 500 boatmen who were rendered jobless due to diversion of traffic to the road after commissioning of Bogibeel and Dhola Sadiya bridges. This is a dramatic social and economic change driven by infrastructure.

Enhanced Connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh

The bridge provides direct connectivity between NH 37 which runs along the south bank of Brahmaputra from Jogighopa to Saikhowaghat near Dibrugarh for 686 Km and NH 52 which runs from Baihata Chariali near Guwahati to Jonai / Pasighat for 510 Km along the north bank. The bridge can be accessed via NH 38 and 39 for road users of the Tinsukia, Lekhapani, and Dimapur areas. Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Silapathar are the important population centres that have directly benefited from improved connectivity. For six districts of South-eastern Arunachal Pradesh, i.e., Tirap, Lohit, Longding, Changlang, Namsai, and Anjaw, it provides a faster and shorter route to Itanagar, the state capital. For example, earlier the travel distance from Khonsa, the headquarter of Tirap district to Itanagar used to be approximately 600 km now after the start of Bogibeel bridge it is reduced to 300 km.

Strategic Significance for Armed Forces

“We may take it then that an army without its baggage-train is lost; without provisions, it is lost; without bases of supply, it is lost” said Sun Tzu in “The Art of War”. The Indian Army had faced this situation in the 1962 conflict with China. In this context, the Bogibeel bridge turns out to be an enormous boost for defence forces. From a military point of view, the IV Corps under the Eastern Command at Tezpur with its three mountain divisions headquartered at Rangiya, Bomdila, and Missamari is the main army formation tasked with protecting the China border in the Eastern sector. These units can now receive logistical support in a short time through NH 58 and NH 37. Army’s second major formation in the northeast sector is the III Corps headquartered at Rangapahar near Dimapur in Nagaland. This has a dual role in tackling insurgency in Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, and along the Myanmar border and protecting the China border. The two mountain divisions under III Corps at Dinjan near Dibrugarh and Likabali in Arunachal Pradesh now have direct connectivity via Bogibeel. Before 2018, army movement across the Brahmaputra was done by ramp propelled vessels of the inland water transport units of the Company of Engineers or by civilian rafts and barges or via the Kaliabhomora bridge near Tezpur which was logistically cumbersome. Journey time for heavy military hardware from Dinjan, which is the headquarters of the two Mountain division to Menchuka, a forward unit of the Army near the China border via the earlier Dinjan-Kaliabor-Balipara-Silapathar-Mechuka route was about two days and the distance was 1050 Km. This has been reduced to about 470 kms that takes15 hours journey via Bogibeel.17 It has been widely reported in the media that the bridge is designed to carry loading of 60-tonne vehicles, thus rendering it fit to carry armoured vehicles and to land and take off IAF jets. Though this has not yet been officially confirmed nor any Air Force landing exercise have taken place so far.

Potential for Inland Water Transport

One segment of connectivity so far untapped in upper Assam is the transport through inland waterways. Bogibeel can play a vital role in the aggregation and distribution of cargo from both the banks, tapping produce from upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The entire 891 Km stretch of Brahmaputra from Dhola Sadiya to Dhubri has been declared as National Waterway 2 from September 1988.18 The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is maintaining a navigable depth of 2.5m in Bangladesh Border- Neamati (629 Km), 2.0m in Neamati – Dibrugarh (139 Km), and 1.5m in Dibrugarh – Sadiya stretches to enable shallow-draft vessels to ply. IWAI moved the first shipment of 400 tonnes of cement from Pandu near Guwahati to Dhubri in December 2017. According to cargo reports of IWAI, the cargo moved on NW2 declined from 2.48 million tonnes in Financial Year 2013-14 to 0.39 million tonnes in Financial Year 2019-20.19 Recently, there is a noticeable improvement in cargo volumes. In the year 2021-22, 0.42 million tonnes had moved as compared to 0.30 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2020-21.20 A “Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade” initially signed in 1972 was renewed with the Bangladesh government on 6 June 2015 which will facilitate direct cargo transportation from NW 1 i.e. Ganga to NW 2 i.e. Brahmaputra.21 The second addendum to the protocol containing more routes was added on 20 May 2020.22 The first transit cargo of 200 MT of food grains set sail from Patna for Pandu on 6 February 2022 followed by another shipment of 178 MT steel from Haldia to Pandu near Guwahati on 16 February 2022 under the revised protocol.23 Presently, the protocol includes routes up to Dhubri-Pandu-Shilghat in the lower and middle reaches of Brahmaputra. It needs to include Dibrugarh, Bogibeel in the future. IWAI is exploring the feasibility of constructing an inland cargo terminal and a tourist jetty near Dibrugarh.

Conclusion

In the short period of three years since its completion, the Bogibeel bridge had a profound impact on the connectivity in upper Assam and eastern Arunachal Pradesh. The broader societal benefits of this improved connectivity will continue to unfold over time. These include better access to medical and educational facilities in Dibrugarh as well as for the public in Arunachal Pradesh and on the north bank. Further, advantage is saving in the man-hours and better utilisation of transport fleet, boost to local and regional tourism as is evident from several hotels and roadside eateries that have sprung up around the bridge. Better infrastructure connectivity will end the geographical remoteness of the NER and make it a viable trade corridor for the Southeast Asia region. Moreover, the bridge will help in the seamless movement of defence troops and their vehicles to Arunachal Pradesh where China’s threat on the border has been escalating for a long time. Bogibeel bridge cuts detours along with reduced travel time as an effect the logistic support to the Indian army guarding at the border will now reach faster. Hence from the national security perspective, the bridge is a big asset. Yet, there are many lessons to be learned from the Bogibeel project.

It has taken 22 long years to complete the bridge from the first announcement in the 1996-97 railway budget. Firstly, the delay is partly due to the lack of funds for mega project of this nature and secondly, there has been for many years a persistent overall neglect of infrastructure needs in NER. The same is true of other critical infrastructure projects in NER such as connecting the seven state capitals by rail network, development of roads up to China border areas, the Trilateral-Highway connecting India-Myanmar-Thailand, etc. Thus, it is important to understand that the improved project delivery performance is crucial to the overall success of AEP.

The Bogibeel project faced serious ecological challenges. It was a tremendous task to construct a bridge on the turbulent mighty Brahmaputra. The wide areas of riverbank on both sides of the bridge had to be protected by guide bunds and river training works were constructed to minimise bank erosion. The construction method was specially designed to reduce interference with the river channel and flow pattern to the minimum. There was a doubt whether the project would cause erosion and siltation around Majuli island which is the largest inhabited island in the river. Studies on this aspect are ongoing. Valuable experience gained during the implementation will be useful in future infrastructure projects.

As a way forward, India must develop multimodal logistics facilities around Bogibeel bridge to truly utilise its potential. In this direction, inland water transport holds great promise that has yet been untapped in upper Assam. The bridge can speed up the connectivity by water transport near Dibrugarh with direct access to both the banks that will be key to the last mile distribution of cargo. The development of inland water transport facilities at Bogibeel, Dibrugarh will truly make the bridge a hub of connectivity and development in the NE region.

Endnotes

.

1 Lionel Giles. Sun Tzu on the Art of War. (Allendale Online Publishing, 2000).

2 Narendra Modi Inaugurates Bogibeel Bridge in Assam. livemint.com (2018).https://www.livemint.com/Politics/zMhowFzkONQkLllh9ycZtK/PM-Modi-inaugurates-Bogibeel-Indias-longest-railroad-brid.html

3 T.B.Henderson Brooks, P. S. B. Henderson-Brooks Report, Part I. Government of India 2 (1962).https://www.indiandefencereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TopSecretdocuments2.pdf

4 The Assam Accord available at https://assamaccord.assam.gov.in/sites/default/files/swf_utility_folder/departments/assamaccord_medhassu_in_oid_3/portlet/level_1/files/The Assam Accord - English.pdf

5 Sri Pranab Kumar Gogoi. Memorandums of Bygone Century that United Two Banks of Brahmaputra at Bogibeel. insidene.com (December 21, 2018). https://www.insidene.com/exclusive-few-historic-memorandums-of-bygone-century-that-united-the-two-banks-of-brahmaputra/#

6 Karmakar, R. Bogibeel: from ‘small’ to big. thehindu.com (December 24, 2018).https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bogibeel-from-small-to-big/article25821858.ece

7 Indian Railways. Indian Railways Speech of Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Introducing the Railway Budget, for 1996-97. (1997). Available at https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/finance_budget/Previous Budget Speeches/1996-97_final.pdf

8 Parliamentary Questions in The XIII Lok Sabha Regarding Bogibeel Bridge. Available at http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Questions/qsearch15.aspx?lsno=13

9 Parliamentary Questions in the XIV Lok Sabha Regarding Bogibeel Bridge. Available at http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Questions/qsearch15.aspx?lsno=14

10 Transforming the Northeast: Tackling Backlogs in Basic Minimum Services and Infrastructural Needs High Level Commission Report to the Prime Minister Government of India Planning Commission New Delhi. (March 7, 1997). https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in/docs/reports/genrep/ne_exe.pdf

11 North Eastern Council. North Eastern Region Vision 2020. (May 13, 2008). https://necouncil.gov.in/sites/default/files/about-us/Vision_2020.pdf

12 Divisional railway Manager. Introduction of Naharlagun Anand Vihar Express. Available at https://twitter.com/DRM_RNY/status/969575073282756610?t=e2NzgvuS7LJxID8MemVazw&s=08

13 Commissioning IOCL POL Siding at Gumto.https://twitter.com/DRM_RNY/status/1190169323832168448?t=7CrY8HMPcJCB746tnz74zQ&s=08

14 Commissioning of FCI Siding at Archipathar.https://twitter.com/DRM_RNY/status/1398190587673669638?t=2wXhmH7GJE405bUS0-6Y_Q&s=08

15 Department of Inland Water Transport, G. O. A. List of Ferry Services Under IWT Assam. Available athttps://iwtdirectorate.assam.gov.in/frontimpotentdata/list-of-ferries-under-iwtassam.

16 Government of Assam, Office of the Executive Engineer: Inland Water Transport Division Guwahati.https://iwtdirectorate.assam.gov.in/sites/default/files/swf_utility_folder/departments/iwt_webcomindia_org_oid_6/do_u_want_2_know/Division wise Passenger %26Cargo data for the year 2017-18.pdf

17 Jaideep Mazumdar. People Happy, Soldiers Confident: How Bogibeel Setu Is Ticking Many Boxes At Once. swarajyamag.com (2019). https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/people-happy-soldiers-confident-how-bogibeel-setu-is-ticking-many-boxes-at-once

18 IWAI. NATIONAL WATERWAYS 2. (1988). https://iwai.nic.in/waterways/national-waterways/national-waterways-2?id=2524

19 IWAI. IWT Cargo Movement 2013-2014 to 2019-2020.https://iwai.nic.in/sites/default/files/statement 2020.pdf

20 IWAI, Inland Waterways Authority of India Cargo Reports. Available at https://iwai.nic.in/sites/default/files/Cargo%20Report%20%282021-22%29.pdf

21 MEA Government of India. Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between Bangladesh and India. (2015). https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/LegalTreatiesDoc/BG15B2421.pdf

22 Government of India. Second Addendum on Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between India and Bangladesh, (2020). https://iwai.nic.in/sites/default/files/filefield_paths/67621434302nd Addendum to PIWTT- 20 May 2020%281%29.pdf

23 Subhash Narayan. Brahmaputra Gets Connected with Ganga via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route. livemint.com (March 6, 2022). https://www.livemint.com/news/india/brahmaputra-gets-connected-with-ganga-via-indo-bangladesh-protocol-route-11646573180543.html

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