Underneath the bridge of hope

Under the unsullied, invigorating skies of the Tea City of India, Dibrugarh — where the smokes of modern decadence have not yet tarnished its inherent aura — the mighty Brahmaputra surges across the far-fetched land between two districts on its either side. On its banks, several young ferrymen rise early to brave a day that is long and hard and perhaps underappreciated as well.

Their ferries ply everyday to and from Dibrugarh (on the south of the river) and Dhemaji (on its north). Tiny, mobile shops for food are set up on the bank — which they also refer to as the ghat — for quick refreshment although there is no provision for toilets and toiletries. At one’s disposal are the sundry overgrown, wild bushes over a vast sand track with no sign of habitation in the vicinity. Depending on the course of the river, the ghat keeps shifting, and so do the ferry business and the miscellaneous shops. But the picturesque, turquoise hues of the river and the wilderness around it evoke an enthralling, serene sensation which makes up for the hustle and bustle integrated into the mundane lives of the people there.

Rocky, who is assigned the task of maintaining a track of the ferries and their operations every day, is on the phone. There’s a ferry with passengers that is stuck in the middle of the river and the responsibility falls on his shoulders to arrange for help. Bhaikan, entrusted with a similar job, knows all ferrymen and their associates. Seeking to use his resources, passengers with their personal vehicles urge him to reserve them a slot as soon as possible. The business on the ghat runs on faith and camaraderie; the dealings with the passengers have no receipts either. The other ferry that Rocky or Bhaikan sends to assist the one that is stuck, sets sail with five or six boatmen. With just some bamboo poles and lumbers, they will try to see if the gigantic ferry that has stuck its edge on a shallow tract of the river could be moved. Mostly, they will use their bare hands to push the ferry that weighs hundreds of kilograms and has three SUVs onboard, and it might take them hours to reinstate the situation. In the process, they are also going to lose an entire batch of their own commuters for the day, but someone still has to go and rescue their colleagues; that is how their trade operates. It’s a normal day at the Bogibeel ferry ghat.

The Assam Agitation (1979-1985) was a historic movement in the State, led by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP), against illegal immigration into the State. After about five years of mass protests, the Assam Accord was signed in 1985, between the leaders of the movement and the Government of India, in New Delhi. The Accord led to the creation of a political party (the Asom Gana Parishad or AGP) that could form a State Government in Assam. Tracing its origins to the Assam Accord, the Bogibeel Bridge was one of the significant infrastructural projects in the pact. It was sanctioned by the Government of India under the Prime Ministership of HD Deve Gowda in 1997-98 and was expected to be completed by the end of the Ninth Five Year Plan in 2012.

However, it was only in 2002 when the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid the foundation stone and construction started. In 2007, the UPA Government that was back in power after Vajpayee’s, deemed it to be of “national importance”. However, after several years of delay (mostly attributed to volatile climatic circumstances) and changes in the Government, the bridge has still not been built completely and the newest date of its completion that has been now proposed is June 2017.

Until the construction of the bridge, almost 40 ferries ply between Dibrugarh and Dhemaji every day, the earliest at 6.40 am and the last at 4 pm, carrying around 180 passengers. There is also provision for accommodating three to four automobiles on each ferry, and even animals (poultry, cattle etc) could make a trip.

Tickets cost Rs 60 for passengers and Rs 1,000 for cars. The Government-run ferries charge relatively lesser for the passengers at Rs 20 and Rs 860 for cars. The ghat, under the Inland Water Transport Department, Government of Assam, is auctioned to a lessee. The private ferries, boatmen, other agents on the ghat will all be entailed under the employment of the lessee. Shidhinath lahan, who works at the ghat, says, “This ghat is currently owned by Arup Chetia. The ferries are monitored by teams of young lads from nearby places.

We have been observing them for a while now; they are of the right age and physique to handle the unpredictable course of the river. They are paid around Rs 6,000 per month and a daily wage of Rs 200 each. Profits from the ferries are divided between the State Government and the private parties in a 60:40 ratio; 60 per cent to the owner of the ferry and 40 per cent to the Government.”

Over the Brahmaputra, one of the longest trans-boundary rivers in Asia, this 4.95-km bridge will connect Dibrugarh and Dhemaji and its construction will reportedly cost Rs 5,000 crore. Mumbai-based Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), whose projects include the Bandra-Worli Sealink, Delhi Metro, and lavasa city, owns 51 per cent stake, Hyderabad-based VNR Infrastructure has 29 per cent and Germany-based DSD Brouckenbau has 20 per cent stake in the construction of the girders or superstructure.

Gammon India is in charge of building the 42 platforms on the gigantic pillars of the bridge, of which now less than 10 remain to be completed. Over 2,500 people work on the project.

This bridge is also going to be the longest one in India having twin modes of transportation — a double deck with two railway tracks on the lower platform and a three-lane road with footpaths on either side on the upper level. HCC had announced that 70,000 metric tonnes of steel will be used for completing the superstructure, which they claimed will be equivalent to 10 Eiffel Towers. It has also been reported earlier that the total length of welding is about 12,800 km, which is the same as circling around the moon 1.5 times!

There are four other bridges over the Brahmaputra in the State. One in Guwahati, another between Goalpara and Jogighopa, one between Kaliabor and Tezpur, and the Dhola-Sadiya bridge which is 9.5 km long. The first two are rail-cum-road bridges whereas the other two only have road connectivity. Internally of course, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will have better accessibility. But much beyond its architectural grandeur, India is hopeful of smoother trade with China through Assam and Arunachal via the bridge.

About what lies ahead for the people working at the ghat once this bridge is constructed, they said that earlier some of them worked at the Rani Ghat at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, but after a bridge was built over the river there, they found way to this one. After this, they believe they will find another ghat to operate at, Tekelifuta at Sivasagar, for example. After all, there is always an unbridged gap everyone is working on.