Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda on Tuesday said he was disappointed at not being invited for the inauguration of the Bogibeel bridge – India’s longest rail and road bridge – even though he had laid the project’s foundation stone in 1997, NDTV reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 4.94-km long bridge that connects Dibrugarh in Assam to Dehamji, which borders Arunachal Pradesh, on Tuesday. The bridge is expected to improve defence logistics along Arunachal Pradesh’s border with China, and is strong enough to bear the movement of military tanks.
“Aiyo Rama! Who will remember me? Some newspapers might have mentioned about it,” the Hindustan Times quoted Deve Gowda as saying on the sidelines of an event in Bengaluru. “The railway line to Kashmir, Delhi Metro and Bogibeel Railroad Bridge were among the projects I had sanctioned [as prime minister]. I had sanctioned the budget of Rs 100 crore for each of these projects and laid their foundation stones. People have forgotten today.”
Asked about the delay in completing the project, the former prime minister pointed out that he had completed two bridges on time, including the Hassan-Mysuru project in 13 months. “Some people from Bombay Karnataka region say that Deve Gowda did not do anything [for the north Karnataka region], go and see it,” he added.
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