Second Ganga Bridge for Patna

In a high-level meeting of the union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday in New Delhi, the central government announced its decision to build a second Railway/Road Bridge between Sonepur and Patna on the river Ganges to lessen the burden on the existing Ganga Bridge and facilitate better economic condition between North and South Bihar.The second bridge wil be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,389 crore of which Rs. 835 crore would be borne by the Indian Railways while Rs. 554 would be part of the total central package to Bihar, officials said.The bridge, which is one of the four bridges under the National Railway Development Corporation plan, is expected to be completed by 2011, they said.