Eighty-six years after a devastating earthquake demolished a British-era railway bridge to cut off Mithilanchal in Bihar’s north with the Kosi belt in the east, train services have resumed to reunite the two culturally-rich regions of the state. Thanks to Kosi Mahasetu—a new bridge over Tilyuga, a tributary of Kosi—the distance between the two areas separated by the 1934 earthquake has been reduced by about 275 km. Built at the cost of Rs 516 crore, the bridge is nothing short of a dream-come-true for lakhs of people on both sides of the river who share similar culture and language. Unsurprisingly, the NDA is tom-tomming the “big achievement” going into the October-November assembly elections in Bihar.