Cuttack, July 19: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said naming the new bridge over the Kathajodi river after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a fitting tribute to one of the country's pre-eminent freedom fighters as he had spent his formative years here.
Subhas was born on January 23, 1897, at Odia Bazaar in Cuttack, where his father Janakinath Bose was a prominent lawyer. He spent the first 16 years of his life in the city.
After studying till Class VI at Stewart School (then called Protestant Baptist School), Subhas passed matriculation from Ravenshaw Collegiate School in 1913. Thereafter, he joined the Presidency College in Calcutta the same year.
Inaugurating the bridge, Naveen said: "Netaji Setu is the longest river bridge in the state and a milestone in infrastructure development."
The 2.815-km bridge is the state's first-of-its-kind three-lane structure connecting Cuttack with Bhubaneswar. It significantly reduces the travel time and distance between the twin cities.
Naveen said: "Infrastructure is the key to development and Odisha is among the states at the forefront in charting expansion in road connectivity." He said the growth of road networks from 16,000km in 2000 to 26,000km in 2017 was an indicator of this progress.
The chief minister also said his government had increased 40 times the budgetary allocation for road construction. "Every district headquarter has four-lane roads and development prospects both in rural and urban areas of the state are bright today," he said.
Nalini Kanta Pradhan, engineer-in-chief of the works department, said: "Constructed at a cost of Rs 114 crore, the bridge was much awaited by the public as it would act as a direct link between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar."
"The three-lane two-way bridge with footpaths on both sides for pedestrians and cyclists is expected to ease traffic congestion on the NH-5 that connects the twin cities," Pradhan said. Construction began on March 7, 2011, and finished within the June 7, 2017 assigned period.
Barabati-Cuttack MLA Debashis Samantaray said: "The Netaji Setu has opened up a direct link to Cuttack from Khurda via Pithapali, from Bhubaneswar via Nandankanan and from Banki via Trishulia."
Police have proposed setting up a police beat house for the bridge along with traffic outposts on both ends.
Not all residents were, however, happy with the bridge being named after Netaji. Cuttack resident and Gyana Mandal secretary Pabak Kanungo said: "The bridge is a milestone, but we would have been happier if it would have been named after Madhusudan Das, the architect of modern Odisha and pioneer of industrialisation in the state."
Odisha Student Leaders' Forum member Santosh Das said: "We would have been happier if the bridge would have been named after celebrated singer, lyricist and music director Akhsaya Mohanty, who died in 2002."
The forum had launched a movement and urged the chief minister, through the collector, to name the bridge after Akshaya Mohanty after Prime Minister Narendra Modi named the 9.15km long Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Assam after music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, while inaugurating the country's longest river bridge on the Brahmaputra on May 26.