IWAI to run fixed schedule sailing between National waterways 1 and 2

Agencies

The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal received the maiden voyage of food-grains from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh on Sunday.

The Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma joined to welcome self propelled vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying a total of 200 MT of foodgrains for Food Corporation of India (FCI) as it completed the maiden pilot run from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh.

The vessel started its sail from Patna on National Waterway-1 (river Ganga) and passed 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 covering a distance of 2,350 km.

Another vessel MV Ram Prasad Bismil with two barges Kalpana Chawla and APJ Abdul Kalam started voyage from Haldia on 17th February 22 and is on the way to Pandu. The vessel is carrying 1800MT Tata steel and already reached Bangladesh Border at Dhubri. The ODC (over Dimensional cargo, 252 MT) of Numaligarh Bio-refinery reached Silghat on February 15 from Haldia through IWT via IBP route. Another ODC (250MT) consignment is also on the way to Silghat.

Sarma said, “The start of cargo movement through ships through Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBRP) marks the beginning of a new age of economic prosperity for the whole region of Northeast. I am confident that the vision of our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and enterprise of our Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal will pave the way for growth & development of the inland water transport.”

Sonowal, said, “Today marks the beginning of a new age of inland water transport in Assam. This is going to provide the business community a viable, economic & ecological alternative. The seamless cargo transportation is a journey of unfulfilled desires & aspirations of the people of Assam. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister, the Northeast region is ready to unlock the value of the Astalakshmi. We are confident that the cargo movement via waterways is going to play a pivotal role in energising India’s northeast as the engine of growth.”

The sustained effort to rejuvenate the historical trade routes via Bangladesh got a fillip under PM Gati Shakti. It has been envisioned that Northeast will slowly turn & convert into a connectivity hub. The integrated development plan, under PM Gati Shakti, has been envisioned in order to ramp up swift movement of cargo over Brahmaputra.

The IWAI is also planning to run a regular scheduled service on these routes. The protocol on Inland water transit and Trade (PIWTT) between India & Bangladesh will be optimally beneficial when we can unlock the value from the cargo trade in the region. 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 Northeast india via the IBP route. The contracts for dredging on the two stretches for providing and maintaining requisite depth for a period of seven years (from 2019 to 2026) are underway. Once the IBP Route number 5 & 6 from Maia near Farakka in India to Aricha in Bangladesh, the IWT distance connecting NW1 to NW2 (North Eastern Region) will further reduced by nearly 1000 km, which will reduce time and cost to a great extent.

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