HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Jan 9: The Union minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday announced major initiatives planned for Assam by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways this year for the development of inland waterways in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch construction work for the two facilities at Pandu in Guwahati on January 13, when he will also flag off the world’s longest river cruise from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route.
“The development of cruise tourism along with infrastructural development along the river banks will benefit countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh along with neighbouring states in the (northeastern) region as they can use the ports for cargo movement,” Union Shipping, Ports and Waterways minister Sonowal said.
The Ship Repairing Centre to be built by the Cochin Shipyard Limited is a “very welcome step” for the investors as now ships had to be taken to Kolkata for repair, leading to a delay of four to five months, Sonowal told a press conference.
“The Ship Repair facility at the Pandu Terminal will save time and money. The facility will cater the repair of vessels of IWT, Govt of Assam, IWAI, Indian Army, and other private operators plying in NW-2 and 16. The dedicated road connecting the Pandu Terminal with the NH-27 will enable 24-hour smooth & swift connectivity making a sound business proposition for cargo operators. The Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast will be instrumental in honing our rich talent pool and acquire much valued skill sets by the candidates for better employment opportunities in the burgeoning logistics industry,” Union minister Sonowal added.
About the 3200 km-long luxury cruise, he said the MV Ganga Vilas will traverse through 27 river systems covering 50 tourist spots in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and before entering Assam, it will pass through neighbouring Bangladesh.
The river cruise is aimed at integrating the National Waterways one and two to unlock the tourism potential of both rivers – the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, Sonowal said.
“Under the dynamic leadership of the Prime Minister, we are exploring the immense wealth that our rich river system has to offer. This avenue of sustainable development has received a tremendous boost due to efforts to augment cargo traffic as well as passenger tourism,” he said.
The PM Gati Shakti Masterplan where infrastructure development of waterways, road and rail networks will enhance connectivity and communication systems, increasing the cargo handling capacity in the ports.
The 51-day cruise, costing USD 300 per day, will carry 32 tourists from Switzerland and 14 of them will disembark at Kolkata with an equal number of travellers boarding it for the onward journey to Dibrugarh.
Another set of 32 tourists from the same country will board the three-deck ship with 18 suites on their way to Varanasi, Sonowal pointed out.
The ship will enter Assam on February 18 and will halt at Dhubri, Joghoghopal, Pandu, Kaziranga and Majuli, before reaching Dibrugarh on March one.
“Besides tourists discovering the treasures of the country, it will also help the new generation know more about the two rivers and be a source of employment,” he said.
About 100 students from all eight states in the northeast will be trained in the skill development centre and they will get placement in the inland water sector.
Two terminals on the Barak River are also being constructed at Badarpur and Karimganj which, besides Assam, will benefit Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, he said.
The experimental journey from Haldia in West Bengal to Chittagong and Mongla ports in Bangladesh has been done and since the opening of access to these ports, cargo movement growth has increased from two million tonnes to 5.3 million tonnes.
Sonowal said that major initiatives worth more than Rs 1016 crore have been planned for revamp of Inland Waterways in Assam till 2024-25.
Asked about the status of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, connecting Kolkata and Sittwe seaport in Myanmar, Sonowal said that there were some road connectivity issues in Myanmar and once this was resolved, operation along the route would start.
“The matter is being looked into by the External Affairs ministry but we have been asked to develop the infrastructure which has been completed on our side,” he added. (With inputs from PTI)
