Context:

=> Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik inaugurated T-Setu over River Mahanadi.

Key facts about T-Setu :

=> T-Setu is Odisha’s longest bridge, constructed over Mahanadi River in Cuttack district.

=> It is a 3.4 km long and 7.5 metre wide bridge.

=> Bridge connects Gopinathpur in Badamba, Baideswar in Banki to Singhanath Pitha, which is located in the middle of Mahanadi River.

=> Bridge has been built in the shape of English alphabet ‘T’.

=> Total cost of the bridge is Rs 111 crore.

=> T-Setu bridge comprises of footpath on both sides. It is of 1.5 metre width.

Reduced distance:

=> T-Setu will benefit people of Cuttack and Khurda by reducing the distance between Badamba and Baideswar by 45 km.

=> Bridge will facilitate communication for some five-lakh people from nearby localities.

=> It will also improve agriculture, business and tourism activities in the area.

=> It will benefit devotees, who are visiting Baba Singhanath’s Bali Makar Jatra in Badamba block.

Significance of the bridge:

Construction of T-Setu is significant because, state government builds a 3-km long fair-weather road (pedestrian track), every year, on Mahanadi River at a cost of Rs 14- Rs15 lakh for facilitating communication for devotees. This road gets washed away in rainy season. As a result, construction of this bridge was a long-standing demand of locals.

Background:

Chief Minister had laid foundation stone T-setu on February 28, 2014. But, due to some technical issues, construction work was delayed and started in 2018.

River Mahanadi:

Mahanadi is a major river of East Central India, flowing through Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It has a total length of 900 kilometres and drains an area of around 132,100 square kilometres. This river is also famous for Hirakud Dam.