§ Mr. COOPERasked the Under-Secretary for India if he will issue a detailed statement justifying the contemplated expenditure on the Sara Bridge in India?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe objcet of the Sara Bridge is to link up the railway systems north and smith of the Lower Ganges and to provide adequate facilities for the great and increasing traffic of the districts of Northern Bengal and Assam with the port of Calcutta. Proposals for constructing such a bridge have been examined and reported on at intervals for twenty years. In 1907 the subject was exhaustively considered by an expert committee, who reported that the construction of a bridge over the Lower Ganges was a matter of extreme urgency, and selected the site where the bridge is now being built. If the hon. Member wishes to see their Report I shall be happy to send him a copy.