The site where the bridge will be built and (below) the foundation stone laid by Tarun Gogoi. Pictures by Ripunjoy Das

Dibrugarh, May 22: At the break of dawn each day, farmers of Moran, Lahowal and Tingkhong load country boats with fruits and vegetables and set off across the Buri Dehing for Dibrugarh town.

A bridge, they know, is long overdue, but remain contented with their reliable ferry service that at least keeps their business going.

That was till last month.

The boats are still their only mode of communication with Dibrugarh but now the farmers close their eyes and visualise an imaginary bridge that will cut the time and cost of travel by half.

Now, the villagers at least have a foundation stone to build their hopes on.

On April 24, chief minister Tarun Gogoi finally laid the foundation stone of a 327-metre-long bridge across the Buri Dehing to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 21.16 crore from the non-lapsable central pool of resources.

“We are happy that the bridge is finally being constructed. It has been a long pending demand for several decades now,” said Munindra Nath Sonowal, a social worker in Jokai.

A little prod brought out the story behind naming the bridge after one Hora Sonowal. Village elders said Sonowal was the only boatman in the area in the pre-Independence era, who rowed till his last breath.

“This is why we have requested the government to name the bridge as Horaghat bridge — not Saraighat — as had been publicised. This will be a befitting honour to the person who had pioneered the connectivity between the two ends several decades ago,” Punaram Bharali, an old farmer from Bharalibari Kalitagaon, said.

The first formal proposal for a bridge was probably moved during a meeting at Jokai Na-Jyoti ME School in 1989.

Majhi, too, admitted that the bridge should have been constructed much earlier. “The demand for the bridge is very old. We are all aware of that, but let us not dwell much on that. We have started work and it is up to the local people here to extend the co-operation required so that the construction is completed within the stipulated timeframe of three years,” the minister, who represents Lahowal constituency, said. The project will be implemented by the PWD.

“The construction of the bridge will allow people to reach Dibrugarh within half the time,” Pronob Konwar, a resident of Kamtighat village, said.