Assam CM Thanks NF Railway for Constructing Panbazar & Panikhaiti Overbridges

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday inaugurated the newly constructed Panbazar Road Overbridge in Guwahati, built at a cost of ₹47 crore by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). The 290-metre-long bridge, supported by 140 piles, features a 7.5-metre-wide carriageway with 1.5-metre-wide footpaths on both sides.
The event was attended by Lok Sabha MP Bijuli Kalita Medhi, Minister of Public Health Engineering Jayanta Malla Baruah, senior BJP leader Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Guwahati Mayor Mrigen Sarania, NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Srivastav, Lumding DRM Sumit Lohani, and Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner Sumit Sattawan.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister invoked the spirit of Durga Puja and said the inauguration of the bridge during the festive season would bring prosperity and relief to the people of Guwahati. He recalled that when he first visited the city in 1976, the Panbazar overbridge, inaugurated in 1965, was one of the very few bridges along with those near B. Borooah College, Nehru Stadium and Maligaon. Over the years, the city has seen new overbridges and flyovers at Chandmari, Narengi, Athgaon, Ganeshguri, Ulubari, Six Mile, Supermarket, Downtown, Zoo Road and Arya Nagar, with more under construction near Chandmari and the cricket stadium.

Sarma said “ The old Panbazar bridge had become a bottleneck as its low clearance caused frequent traffic jams and hindered the passage of electric trains. NFR had assured him that the old structure would be demolished and rebuilt within 18 months, stronger and higher, and has now fulfilled that promise. He thanked the NFR for completing both the Panbazar and Panikhaiti overbridges, which he said would ease the traffic congestion that commuters faced over the past few weeks.”

The Chief Minister also announced that the land of the old ASTC bus stand has been transferred to the state government by NFR in exchange for equivalent land at Jalukbari. This, he said, will allow redevelopment of Guwahati Railway Station with entrances on both sides to make it more commuter-friendly.

Highlighting the progress in railway infrastructure, Sarma said “ The city has long suffered due to single-line tracks where trains from Delhi had to wait at Rangia if another from Lumding was on the route. With double-line projects now being implemented under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, travel time to Kolkata and Delhi will be reduced significantly.”

He noted that while earlier NFR spent around ₹2,000 crore annually in the Northeast, the figure has now risen to nearly ₹10,000 crore, reflecting the Centre’s commitment to accelerating connectivity and infrastructure development in the region.

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