Inland waterways boost for Assam: Sonowal outlays Rs. 1010 cr investment plan to develop Brahmaputra & Barak

Guwahati, Nov 30: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, announced in Parliament a Rs. 1010 crore investment for the comprehensive development of the Brahmaputra and Barak under the Modi government’s inland waterways infrastructure initiatives.

This funding supports multiple projects for enhancing cargo, passenger movement, river tourism, and regional connectivity.

Sonowal informed the House about the approval of a new slipway in Majuli at an investment of Rs. 96.60 crores under the Sagarmala scheme. The due in-principle approval has been conveyed by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

Responding to a question by MP Gaurav Gogoi, Sonowal also informed the House that as part of the inland waterways infrastructure development on Brahmaputra (NW 2) for cargo & passenger movement and river tourism, 12 floating terminals, 2 Multimodal Terminals at Pandu and Jogighopa and 2 permanent terminals at Bogibeel and Dhubri.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is also tasked to maintain a fairway with required depth for smooth sailing of cruise vessels. Sonowal also informed about an MoU signed for “Riverine based Religious Tourism Circuit in SPV framework” among Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), Directorate of IWT, Assam and IWAI.

This project is aimed at connecting sever religious places of worship through waterways by deploying appropriate capacity of vessels on Hop On & Hop Off basis. These seven sites are Kamakhya Temple, Pandunath Temple, Ashwaklanta Temple, Doul Govinda Temple, Umananda Temple, Chakreshwar Temple and Auniati Satra.

For the comprehensive development of Brahmaputra & Barak, an estimated Rs. 1010 crores include key projects are Comprehensive Development of NW2 with a sanctioned cost of Rs. 474 crores with an overall physical progress 79.87%. It also includes development of approach road from Pandu Port terminal to NH27 and development of Ship Repair Facility at Pandu with an estimated cost of Rs. 388 crores, with more than 60% of physical progress completed. For NW16, the development package includes development of Barak River and Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 148 crores.

Of the six tourist jetties, the floating jetties at Bogibeel and Pandu is nearly 85% complete. Four tourist jetties made of steel at Silghat, Biswanath ghat, Neamati and Guijan, the Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Construction Limited (IPRCL) has been entrusted with the project. While the construction of slipways at Dhubri and Majuli is being developed at Rs. 96.60 crores each, the proposal of construction of passenger terminal at Ghagor in North Lakhimpur, Bahari in Barpeta, Goalpara, Guijan in Tinsukia, Kurua in Darrang, Disangmukh in Sibsagar as well as at Matmora in North Lakhimpur are also under various stages of execution.

Responding to a supplementary question from MP Pradyut Bordoloi, the Union Minister informed that “for safe movement of vessels, fairway of required depth of 2 to 2.5 m & width of 35 to 45 m of navigation channel is maintained. For maintenance of fairway, besides the other means (bandalling, channel stabilization works etc), maintenance dredging is carried out as per site conditions wherever recorded depth during fortnightly hydrographic surveys is less than the targeted LAD.”

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