Guwahati: The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ministry of Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal, after reviewing the progress of waterways projects in Barak Valley said that the central government is working to explore full potential of inland waterways. He said that it is an important means of communication for the development of interior parts.
He said that Northeast India is rich and its richness must reach the world. This would help people from outside the region become aware of its heritage and resources.
According to him, inland waterways come as a wonderful avenue to take produce from the northeast into the global trade map in an efficient and economical way.
He confirmed that the central government is working towards unlocking this potential of the Northeast by enabling the river systems to act as conduits of growth and development.
He reviewed the progress made on the renovation of existing shore facilities at Badarpur terminal and renovation of existing shore facilities at Karimganj terminal.
The Minister directed the officials to take all necessary measures, including dredging, in order to ensure smooth passage of cargo vessels on National Waterways (NW) 2 (Brahmaputra) and NW 16 (Barak).
The IWAI is carrying out the work for renovation of IWAI terminals at Badarpur along NW 16 (river Barak) and Karimganj along Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route (river Kushiyara) in Karimganj district of Assam through the Central Public Works Department on deposit work basis.
To maintain the navigable part of the river on river Barak, dredging work will be undertaken by the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) between Bhanga to Badarpur (10.50 kilometers) of NW 16 at an estimated cost of Rs 45 crore for a three-year period.
A joint team of the Inland Water Authority of India (IWAI) and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA ) has conducted a hydrographic survey in River Kushiyara between India and Bangladesh last month. This was approved by the Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh.
A threefold increase has been observed in the margin of export in recent years in 2022-2023 than the Financial Year 2021-2022.
The Union Minister Sonowal in September 2022 has launched a multi-projects for the development of the Bogibeel region in Dibrugarh.
He informed in Dibrugarh that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put special emphasis to harness the potential of an economically sound logistics avenue of inland waterways. He confirmed that his government is identifying avenues to promote inland navigation, river cruise tourism and construction of suitable terminals across the Brahmaputra.
He informed then about India’s longest river cruise to start from Varansi to Bogibeel in January 2023. This will cover a distance of more than 4000 kilometers via Ganga, India Bangladesh Protocol Route and the Brahmaputra.
Other important projects will include floating jetties, ferry ghats, floating restaurants, public eating stalls, tourist visits, picnic spots and eco resorts are also being planned.
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