UPSC Prelims 2026Question 61International Relations

Consider the following statements about river bridges connecting India with neighbouring countries:
1. ‘Maitri Setu’, built over Feni river, connects Ramgarh in India with Sabroom in Bangladesh.
2. Jhulaghat suspension bridge connects India with Myanmar.
3. Mechi bridge and its approaches connect Panitanki Bypass in India with Kakarvitta in Nepal.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Options

(a)1 and 2
(b)2 and 3
(c)1 only
(d)3 only

Correct answer: d

Decision rule

In cross-border link questions, check which town lies on which side: the river and country pair can be right while the towns are swapped.

Explanation

Correct Answer

(d) 3 only

Explanation of the Correct Answer

Only Statement 3 is correct.

The question contains two important location traps:

Maitri Setu is indeed built over the Feni river, but it connects Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh, not Ramgarh in India with Sabroom in Bangladesh.
Jhulaghat suspension bridge connects India with Nepal, not Myanmar.
Mechi bridge and its approaches connect Panitanki in India with Kakarvitta/Kakarbhitta in Nepal, which is correct. Government sources describe the Mechi Bridge project as linking Kakarvitta in Nepal and Panitanki in India. (Press Information Bureau)

Evaluation of the Statements

Statement	Verdict	Explanation
1. ‘Maitri Setu’, built over Feni river, connects Ramgarh in India with Sabroom in Bangladesh.	Incorrect	Maitri Setu is over the Feni river, but it connects Sabroom in Tripura, India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh. The countries are reversed in the statement. (Press Information Bureau)
2. Jhulaghat suspension bridge connects India with Myanmar.	Incorrect	Jhulaghat is an India-Nepal border crossing in Uttarakhand, not an India-Myanmar bridge.
3. Mechi bridge and its approaches connect Panitanki Bypass in India with Kakarvitta in Nepal.	Correct	Mechi Bridge connects the India-Nepal border route between Panitanki in India and Kakarvitta/Kakarbhitta in Nepal. (Press Information Bureau)

Therefore, the correct answer is (d) 3 only.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect

Option	Verdict	Explanation
(a) 1 and 2	Incorrect	Both Statements 1 and 2 are incorrect.
(b) 2 and 3	Incorrect	Statement 3 is correct, but Statement 2 is incorrect because Jhulaghat connects India with Nepal, not Myanmar.
(c) 1 only	Incorrect	Statement 1 reverses the India-Bangladesh locations.
(d) 3 only	Correct	Only Statement 3 is correctly matched.

Relevant Supplementary Information

Important River Bridges Connecting India with Neighbouring Countries

Bridge	River	Connects	Neighbouring Country
Maitri Setu	Feni	Sabroom, Tripura with Ramgarh	Bangladesh
Mechi Bridge	Mechi	Panitanki, West Bengal with Kakarvitta/Kakarbhitta	Nepal
Jhulaghat Suspension Bridge	Kali / Mahakali region	Jhulaghat, Uttarakhand with Nepal-side settlements	Nepal
Dharchula Suspension Bridge	Kali / Mahakali	Dharchula, Uttarakhand with Darchula	Nepal
Dawki-Tamabil route bridge region	Umngot river region	Meghalaya side with Bangladesh border route	Bangladesh

Bridge / Link	River / Water Body	Indian Location	Neighbouring Country Location	Country Connected
Maitri Setu	Feni River	Sabroom, Tripura	Ramgarh	Bangladesh
Mechi Bridge	Mechi River	Panitanki, West Bengal	Kakarvitta / Kakarbhitta	Nepal
Jhulaghat Suspension Bridge	Kali / Mahakali River	Jhulaghat, Uttarakhand	Nepal-side Jhulaghat area	Nepal
Dharchula Suspension Bridge	Kali / Mahakali River	Dharchula, Uttarakhand	Darchula	Nepal
Banbasa Bridge / Sharda Barrage route	Sharda / Mahakali River	Banbasa, Uttarakhand	Mahendranagar region	Nepal
Raxaul-Birgunj Road Link	Sirsiya / local river system area	Raxaul, Bihar	Birgunj	Nepal
Dawki-Tamabil Link	Umngot River region	Dawki, Meghalaya	Tamabil / Sylhet route	Bangladesh
Petrapole-Benapole Link	Ichamati region / land-border corridor	Petrapole, West Bengal	Benapole	Bangladesh

Correcting the Common Traps

Statement Type	Correct Fact	Trap in Question
Maitri Setu location	Sabroom is in India, Ramgarh is in Bangladesh	Countries are reversed
Maitri Setu river	Built over the Feni river	River part is correct
Jhulaghat bridge	Connects India and Nepal	Myanmar is wrongly mentioned
Mechi Bridge	Connects Panitanki, India and Kakarvitta/Kakarbhitta, Nepal	Correctly stated
Mechi Bridge importance	Part of India-Nepal cross-border connectivity and Asian Highway route	Important for trade and movement

Key Takeaways from the Tables

Key Point	Explanation
Maitri Setu = India-Bangladesh	It connects Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
Jhulaghat = India-Nepal	It does not connect India with Myanmar.
Mechi Bridge = India-Nepal	It connects Panitanki Bypass in India with Kakarvitta in Nepal.
Statement 3 alone is correct	Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.
Location reversal is the main trap	The first statement is wrong only because India and Bangladesh locations are reversed.

Key Point	Explanation
Maitri Setu = Feni River = India-Bangladesh	It connects Sabroom, Tripura with Ramgarh, Bangladesh.
Mechi Bridge = India-Nepal	It connects Panitanki, India with Kakarvitta / Kakarbhitta, Nepal.
Jhulaghat = India-Nepal, not Myanmar	It is located in the Kali/Mahakali border region.
Location reversal is a common trap	Many questions switch Indian and neighbouring-country locations.
Myanmar connectivity is mainly through Moreh-Tamu	Jhulaghat should not be associated with Myanmar.
Cross-border bridges support trade and regional integration	They improve movement of goods, people and strategic access.

Context and Current Relevance

Cross-border bridges are important for trade, tourism, border management and regional connectivity.
Maitri Setu improves India-Bangladesh connectivity and gives Tripura access toward Chittagong port.
Mechi Bridge strengthens India-Nepal movement along the eastern border corridor.

Table: Correcting Common Exam Traps

Bridge / Link	Correct Fact	Common Trap
Maitri Setu	Connects Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh	Reversing the locations as Ramgarh in India and Sabroom in Bangladesh
Maitri Setu	Built over the Feni River	Confusing it with Teesta, Gumti or Meghna
Jhulaghat Suspension Bridge	Connects India with Nepal	Incorrectly linking it with Myanmar
Mechi Bridge	Connects Panitanki in India with Kakarvitta / Kakarbhitta in Nepal	Confusing it with India-Bangladesh connectivity
Dharchula Bridge	Connects Dharchula, India with Darchula, Nepal	Confusing Dharchula and Darchula as the same-side locations
Dawki-Tamabil route	Connects Meghalaya with Bangladesh	Confusing it with Nepal or Myanmar routes
Petrapole-Benapole	Major India-Bangladesh land port route	It is not an India-Nepal route

Table: India’s Neighbouring Countries and Important Border Connectivity Points

Neighbouring Country	Important Connectivity Point / Bridge / Route	Indian State Involved	Importance
Bangladesh	Maitri Setu: Sabroom-Ramgarh	Tripura	Improves access from North-East India to Bangladesh and Chittagong port region
Bangladesh	Petrapole-Benapole	West Bengal	India-Bangladesh’s most important land trade route
Bangladesh	Dawki-Tamabil	Meghalaya	Important trade and passenger route
Nepal	Mechi Bridge: Panitanki-Kakarvitta	West Bengal	Eastern India-Nepal trade and movement
Nepal	Jhulaghat Suspension Bridge	Uttarakhand	Local cross-border movement
Nepal	Dharchula-Darchula Bridge	Uttarakhand	Border connectivity in the Kali/Mahakali region
Nepal	Raxaul-Birgunj	Bihar	Major India-Nepal trade corridor
Bhutan	Jaigaon-Phuentsholing route	West Bengal	Main India-Bhutan trade and entry route
Myanmar	Moreh-Tamu route	Manipur	Major India-Myanmar land connectivity route

Table: Rivers Associated with Cross-Border Connectivity

River	Countries / Border Region	Associated Bridge / Route
Feni	India-Bangladesh	Maitri Setu
Mechi	India-Nepal	Mechi Bridge
Kali / Mahakali	India-Nepal	Jhulaghat and Dharchula suspension bridges
Sharda / Mahakali	India-Nepal	Banbasa-Sharda Barrage route
Umngot	India-Bangladesh border region	Dawki-Tamabil route region
Ichamati	India-Bangladesh border region	Petrapole-Benapole region

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