Inauguration of the Odisha’s Longest Bridge
The Chief Minister of Odisha inaugurated the state’s longest bridge which was over the Mahanadi river at the Gopinathpur in the district Cuttack on 20th December 2021. “The longest bridge of Odisha on river Mahanadi connects more people, more places and brings more development,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted with the images of the bridge. On 28 February 2014, CM had laid the basis stone of this bridge.
The following are some key points about the bridge.
According to the government of Odisha, this bridge was a long-standing need of the local residents and will compress the length between Badamba and Baideswhar by 45 kilometres and will join Shinghanath Temple.
The 3.4 km long bridge has a ‘T’ shaped structure and has been built at a cost of Rs. 111 crores.
Also, this bridge will contribute to the growth of agriculture, tourism, and commerce in the area. It will enable a commute for 5-lakh people from near localities.
About Mahanadi River
The Mahanadi basin stretches over states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and comparatively more smallish parts of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh depleting a scope of 1.4 lakh Sq.km.
It has a complete length of 900 Km and empties an area of approx 132,100 square km. Also, this river is renowned for Hirakud Dam.
It is bordered by the Central India hills and by the Eastern Ghats on the south.
The Mahanadi follows a whole course of 560 miles (900 kilometres).
It has its origin in the northern foothills of the Dandakaranya in Raipur of Chhattisgarh at a height of 442 m.
Further, the river is one of the principal rivers of the peninsular rivers.
After receiving the river Seonath, it shifts east and enters the state of Odisha.
Importance of the bridge- Construction of T-Setu is important because, state government creates a 3-km extended fair-weather street (pedestrian track), each year, on the Mahanadi River at an expense of Rs. 14 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh for facilitating transmission for devotees. And, this road gets flushed away in the rainy season. As a consequence, the structure of this bridge was a demand of locals.
In July 2017, Patnaik had inaugurated the 2.88 kilometres long Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Setu over the Kathajodi river at Trisulia. This bridge till now held the identification of the state’s most extended bridge. The bridge links Bhubaneswar and Cuttack via Barang.
