The foundation stone to connect Majuli island with Jorhat in eastern Assam with a bridge has been laid twice in the past five years: First by Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari before Assam Assembly elections in 2016 and then by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2021, a month before the Assembly polls.
In 2018, Gadkari promised that construction work of the bridge would begin soon. That promise was made again months before the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
Over 1.67 lakh residents of Majuli, the island district and a tourist attraction still await a bridge, leaving them with no option but to depend on the ferries for transportation with the outside world.
The mishap involving two such ferries on Wednesday in which one college teacher died and two others went missing again brought the demand for a bridge into focus. A government-run ferry, 'Maa Kamala' that started from Kamalabari ghat in Majuli with 90 passengers collided with a private boat, just before it reached the Neematighat bank of the Brahmaputra in Jorhat district. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said 87 passengers either swam to the bank or were rescued.
"The bridge seems to have become a lollypop before the elections just for votes. No one seems to be interested to ameliorate the problems and safety fear we go through daily," Saben Kalita, a resident of Bhekulimari village in Majuli, the Centre of Assam's Vaishnavite culture, told DH over the phone on Thursday.
"We face a lot of problems in taking the serious patients to Jorhat or Dibrugarh for treatment. Medical facilities in Majuli is still not good. Often the ferries or boats remain stuck in the middle of the Brahmaputra due to technical snags. The boats don't even follow the safety protocols, the number of safety kits like life jackets is not sufficient," said Kalita, who crossed the river from Majuli minutes before the mishap.
Over 1.67 lakh (2011 Census) lives in the 553 square kilometre island district, which is a popular tourist attraction due to its scenic beauty, several satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and the art of mask making.
Union minister for ports and water transport, Sarbananda Sonowal, who was Assam CM between 2016 and 2021 was elected from Majuli twice to Assam Assembly.
The government earmarked Rs. 925.47 crores for a 6.8 km bridge to connect Majuli with Jorhat.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited the accident site and took a boat ride to take stock of the rescue efforts on Thursday said that construction of the bridge would begin in November but would take another four years to complete. "As the focus was on the larger demand for a bridge, the safety aspects of the boats were not attended properly," the CM admitted.
The Opposition Congress and Asom Jatiya Parishad blamed the BJP-led government for the mishap and the failure to construct the bridge in the past five years. "BJP promises the bridge only before elections to woo voters," said Debabrata Saikia, leader of Congress legislature party.
Sarma said he instructed Jorhat police to register a criminal case in connection with Wednesday's boat mishap and three officials were suspended. The CM also announced that single-engine boats would also not be allowed to ply on the route.
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