The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India, is investing Rs1,010 crores for the full development of the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers in Assam, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said the Parliament. The Minister also announced that a new slipway at Majuli, which will cost Rs 96.60 crores to build under the Sagarmala program, has been approved. The Ministry of Finance’s Department of Expenditure has communicated the necessary in-principal permission.
In response to a query from Gaurav Gogoi, MP, Jorhat, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal added that 12 floating terminals, 2 multimodal terminals at Pandu and Jogighopa, and 2 permanent terminals at Bogibeel and Dhubri are all part of the inland waterways’ infrastructure development on Brahmaputra (NW 2) for cargo & passenger movement and river tourism. Maintaining a fairway with the necessary depth for cruise ships to travel smoothly is another responsibility of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
Additionally, Sonowal disclosed that Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), Directorate of IWT, Assam, and IWAI have inked an MOU for a “Riverine based Religious Tourism Circuit in SPV framework.” By deploying watercraft with the proper capacity on a Hop On & Hop Off basis, this project seeks to connect several places of worship via waterways. These seven locations include the temples of Kamakhya, Pandunath, Ashwaklanta, Doul Govinda, Umananda, Chakreshwar, and Auniati Satra.
An estimated Rs 1010 crores would be needed for the complete development of the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers. The main projects include the Comprehensive Development of NW2, which has a sanctioned cost of Rs 474 crores and an overall physical advancement of 79.87%. Along with the construction of a ship repair facility at Pandu, which is expected to cost Rs 388 crores and has more than 60% of its physical work finished, it also includes the construction of an approach road from the Pandu Port terminal to NH27. At a sanctioned cost of Rs 148 crores, the development plan for NW16 includes the construction of the Barak River and the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR).
The floating jetties at Bogibeel and Pandu are almost 85% finished out of the six tourist jetties. The Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Construction Limited (IPRCL) has been given the task of building four steel tourist jetties at Silghat, Biswanath Ghat, Neamati, and Guijan. The plan to build passenger terminals at Ghagor in North Lakhimpur, Bahari in Barpeta, Goalpara, Guijan in Tinsukia, Kurua in Darrang, Disangmukh in Sibsagar, and Matmora in North Lakhimpur is also in different stages of execution, even though the slipway constructions at Dhubri and Majuli are being developed at a cost of Rs 96.60 crores each.
In response to a question posed by Pradyut Bordoloi, MP, Nagaon, Sonowal stated that “a fairway of required depth of 2 to 2.5 m & width of 35 to 45 m of navigation channel is maintained for safe movement of vessels.” In addition to other methods (such as bandalling and channel stabilization work), maintenance dredging is done based on site conditions whenever the depth reported during biweekly hydrographic surveys falls short of the desired level for fairway maintenance.
