Country’s longest cable-stayed bridge at Ambhora village in Nagpur district was opened for the traffic on Saturday, opening new doors of development for the most backward area of Nagpur and Bhandara districts. While interacting with ‘The Hitavada’ after the inauguration, Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari said, “The Ambhora point will emerge on the global map as a tourist destination.” The bridge is standing on the five pylons that have been constructed in the Wainganga river with scenic backwaters across the river bed. If one visits the place, he would see only water everywhere, making it a perfect spot for the tourist destination.

 

With the bridge, there will be a new dawn of development for the locals. Gadkari said, “It would become a bustling tourist place with water sports activities and resorts. The Karhandla Jungle of Umred tehsil and Ambhora point in Kuhi tehsil would emerge as a tourist circuit whereafamily can spend two-days easily.” The bridge is set to open doors of development for the backward area of Kuhi and Umred tehsil, and provide a significant boost to tourism at the Shree Chaitanyeshwar Mahadev temple at Ambhora. Located 75 kilometres from Nagpur city, Ambhora is a famous religious and tourist destinationinVidarbha.Thevillage is situated at the confluenceoffive rivers -Wainganga, Kanhan, Aam, Kolari and Murza. Tourism at Ambhora declinedaftertheconstruction of the Gosikhurd dam, which led to a rise in waterlevels and the submergence of the river banks. However, with the construction of the new bridge, tourists will be able to see the scenic backwaters across the river bed, which is more than 50 feet deep.

 

The bridge will also open connectivity to Bhandara district for the locals, and vehicular traffic will increase in the area,boostingtourism,according to locals. Most of the residents of the eastern parts of KuhitehsilandNagpurdistrict work as farm labourers, with no other job opportunities. A viewing gallery has been constructed at the top of thecentralpylon,around40metretall, to boost tourism, withtourists able to access thegallery from twocapsule-sizedlifts or a staircase. The galleryhas a carpet area of 325 squaremetres. Gadkari announcedthat a restaurant would beopened at the gallery for thetourists. The construction of thebridge was completed inDecember 2022, with cablesimported from Austria. TheState PWD awarded a contract worth Rs 143 crore toaPunebasedcompany.Thebridgehasfootpaths on both sides andtwolanes7.5metreswideeachon which four four-wheelerscan travel at a time.