Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 5 FEB: Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday flagged off an inland waterway vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri from Patna to Guwahati. The vessel carrying 200 metric tonnes of food grains started its journey from Patna and it will reach Pandu in Guwahati by early March. The vessel will take about 25 days to cover the entire voyage via Bangladesh and will cover a distance of 2,350 km.
The minister also laid the foundation stone for construction of Kalughat intermodal terminal at Saran in Bihar on National Waterway – 1 (river Ganga).
Speaking on this landmark moment, Mr Sonowal, said, “This is a historic moment for all of Northeast as we embark to reap the benefit of the most seamless cargo transportation through Brahmaputra. This is not just a journey from Patna to Pandu but it is a journey of unfulfilled desires and aspirations to reach out to a wider world via waterways.”
He also said, “The opportunity for the people of Assam and Northeast is tremendous. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister, the Northeast region is no longer relegated but every effort is made to act and unlock the value that the Astalakshmi promises. We are confident that by restarting the cargo movement via waterways is going to play a pivotal role in energising India’s northeast as the engine of growth.”
According to the shipping ministry, the vessel starts its sail on National Waterway-1 (river Ganga) through Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar; Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route through Khulna, Narayanganj, Sirajganj, Chilmari and National Waterway-2 through Dhubri, and Jogighopa.
This historic feat will usher a new era of growth for all the states of Northeast India. The waterways will cut through the landlocked access which has been crippling development in the region for long. The waterways not only remove this geographical hindrance on the road of progress in the region but also provides an economical, swift and convenient transportation for the businesses and people of the region, a ministry release stated.
In line with the “Act East” policy of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has taken up several infrastructure projects on National Waterway-1, Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, and NW2, through the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). These steps will improve the connectivity with North Eastern Region (NER) through waterways. The Government has undertaken the ambitious Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) with an investment of about Rs. 4600 crore for the capacity augmentation of NW-1 (river Ganga) for safe and sustainable movement of vessels up to 2000 tonnes, it said.
National Waterway-1 (River Ganga) is connected to National Waterway-2 (River Brahmaputra) and National Waterway-16 (River Barak) through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes. To improve the navigability, two stretches of IBP routes, i.e., Sirajganj-Daikhowa and Ashuganj-Zakiganj are also being developed at a cost of Rs. 305.84 crores on an 80:20 share basis (80% being borne by India and 20% by Bangladesh). The development of these stretches is expected to provide seamless navigation to NER via the IBP route, Mr Sonowal said.
Tags: #CrgoVessel #LalBahadurShastri #Patna #Pandua #Assam #Bangladesh #SarbanandaSonowal
