A bridge over the Sisar river, which will connect East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley districts in Arunachal Pradesh, is nearing completion after over a decade.
The construction of both ends of the bridge is almost complete with the middle portion finished earlier.
The Sisiri bridge will connect western and central locations in the state like Itanagar and Pasighat with eastern towns like Roing, Tezu and Namsai without having to go through Assam.
In December 2017, deputy chief minister Chowna Mein had inspected the bridge construction sites at Sisiri from Aohali village under Mebo sub-division along National Highway 52, which is a part of the Trans-Arunachal Highway. Mein had asked the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited’s general manager, Vivek Srivastav, to expedite the work but even after passing of a year, the bridge was yet to see the light of the day.
The bridge, after its completion, will be a huge respite for people of eastern and western Arunachal as residents face communication bottleneck during the monsoon every year.
The travel time from Pasighat to Roing and Tezu, which takes almost six to seven hours, going through Amarpur, Chapakhowa and Sadia in Assam, including a large portion on ferries, will be covered in two to three hours after the bridge is thrown open. It will also lead to reduction in travelling expenses.
The Sisiri bridge will also aid in faster troop movement to the Kibithu sector along the international border with China under Anjaw district.
The military establishments in East Siang district like Rayang and Sigar military stations and Tuting military station in Upper Siang district will be able to move rapidly in case of an emergency situation like the 1962 Chinese aggression.
The people of nearby areas, locals and tourists hope they would be able to enjoy the natural beauty visible from the bridge and wished it is completed before the rainy season hits.