PATHANKOT: A strategically key bridge over the river Ravi connecting Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir will be inaugurated on Monday.

An Army spokesman said here the inauguration will take place on Monday by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi with Defence Minister A K Antony and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in attendance.

"The bridge is of immense strategic importance as it is the first such bridge in northern India. It is a 592-metre long bridge, only the third of its kind in India after Hoogly and Mumbai bridges.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir will get an alternative route besides the national highway to connect with Kashmir, a Defence communique said.