PHOTOS: India's longest bridge opened in Assam

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country's longest bridge in Assam.

Built over the Lohit river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, the bridge is located in Sadia, 540 kilometres from Guwahati. Its other end is in Dhola, 300 kilometres from Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal.

The bridge is named after singer Bhupen Hazarika, who hailed from Sadia.

The bridge is 9.15 km in length -- that's nearly 30 per cent longer that the famous Bandra-Worli Sealink in Mumbai.

The bridge will reduce travel time between strategically located Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by four hours as the earlier means of transport was only by river.

Bearing in mind the necessity for quick movement of troops and artillery to the bordering state of Arunachal, the bridge has been designed to accommodate the movement of battle tanks.

There is no existing bridge in the region that is strong enough to allow the travel of tanks to Tinsukia, from where troops usually enter Arunachal.

Construction began in 2011, when the Congress governed Assam. The cost of the project is about Rs. 950 crore.

WATCH: Aerial view of the bridge

Photographs: PIB