The Basohli bridge, named as Atal Setu, is the fourth of its kind in India. The other three cable-stayed bridges are–Hugli bridge at Kolkata, Naini bridge in Allahabad and Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link in Mumbai.

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Atal Setu

The bridge, which is in Basohli tehsil of Kathua district of Jammu is North India’s first cable-stayed bridge. It has not only provided close connectivity among the three states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab but also made the lives of those living close to the Ravi so much more easier. Residents of more than three dozen villages now don’t have to undertake cumbersome journey to meet up.

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Basohli is a town in Kathua district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated on the right bank of River Ravi at an altitude of 1876 ft. It was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal sometime in 1635. It was known for magnificent places which are now in ruins and miniatures paintings (Basohli Paintings).

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Atal Setu

The work on the bridge in Basohli started in September 2011 on the demand of people of Basohli where over 22 villages were submerged in water and evacuated to other places after the construction of Ranjit Sagar dam.

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Ranjit Sagar Dam

Ranjit Sagar Dam, also known as the Thein Dam, is constructed on the Ravi River.

The 592-metre span bridge was constructed by Border Roads Organization (BRO) at a cost of Rs 145 crore, it has reduced the travel time from Basohli in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir to Dunera in Punjab to just half an hour from earlier four to five hours.

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Out of 592 metre span bridge, 350 metres is cable-stayed while rest is plain bridge. The bridge has a tower height of about 88 metres above the deck level. There is 1.5 metre wide footpaths on both sides. It took five years to complete the bridge.

Ranjit Sagar lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes of the country which was formed as a result of ponding of the Thein dam at river Ravi. It starts from the village Thein and culminates near Khajura village of Basohli tehsil. The entire lake is encircled by the range of high Shivalik hills. The whole stretch of the lake is naturally divided into a number of lakes of different dimensions with the widths ranging from one to three kms.