Assam's stunning Saraighat Bridge completes 50 years

The first bridge on the Brahmaputra River, built to connect north east India with the rest of the country, has completed 50 years.

Known as Saraighat Bridge, this road-cum-rail bridge in Guwahati has transformed the profile of the region, enhancing the transport network of the state.

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India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the bridge at a grand function held at the nearby Maligaon railway station in 1963.

The Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway is responsible for maintenance of the road-cum-rail bridge.

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A spokesman of the NF Railway informed that that the structure of the age-old bridge, which is named after a village called Sarai in the locality, has remained intact even after five decades of service.

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The Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati had in April this year examined the structure of the bridge, the most vital surface link between the north east and the rest of the country.

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All the 11 pillars of the bridge are stable. Besides a huge volume of vehicular and passenger traffic, the bridge also bears the weight of 85 goods and passenger trains running over it every day.

The construction of Saraighat Bridge started in January 1959 and the Hindustan Construction Company completed construction of the bridge in September 1962.

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The 1,492 metre (1.5 km) bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 10.65 crore (Rs 106.5 million) at that time.

A diesel engine first moved on the rail bridge on September 23, 1962 and a goods train service started on October 31 the same year.