Consider the following statements about river bridges connecting India with neighbouring countries:
- ‘Maitri Setu’, built over Feni river, connects Ramgarh in India with Sabroom in Bangladesh.
- Jhulaghat suspension bridge connects India with Myanmar.
- Mechi bridge and its approaches connect Panitanki Bypass in India with Kakarvitta in Nepal.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3
- 1 only
- 3 only
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect
- Maitri Setu is a 1.9-kilometre-long bridge built over the Feni River that connects Sabroom in Tripura, India, to Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
Statement 2 is incorrect
- The Jhulaghat Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian hanging bridge crossing the Kali River, forming a natural international border between India and Nepal.
Statement 3 is correct
- Mechi Bridge and its approaches on the India-Nepal Border link Panitanki in India and Karkarvitta in Nepal.
- Note: This is a classic example of a hardcore factual UPSC question where the scope for logical elimination is quite limited. Unless an aspirant is familiar with these specific connectivity projects and border infrastructure initiatives, arriving at the correct answer becomes difficult. While one may be able to eliminate Statement 2 by knowing that Jhulaghat connects India and Nepal rather than India and Myanmar, the problem still remains. After eliminating Statement 2, the choice narrows to “1 only” and “3 only”, making the final answer dependent on factual knowledge of Maitri Setu and Mechi Bridge. At this stage, random guessing can be risky. Questions of this nature are often designed to maintain the paper’s difficulty level. Therefore, if an aspirant lacks sufficient factual certainty, we recommend avoiding guesswork and moving on.
