Five more National Waterways in Assam feasible for ferry services

GUWAHATI : Five more rivers in Assam have been found feasible for tourism and ferry services. These are the Aai river, Beki river, Dehing river, Jinjiram river, and Subansiri river.

There are a total of 111 National Waterways declared by the central government under the National Waterways Act, 2016. Of the 111 National Waterways, 15 are located in Assam.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways had carried out a feasibility study, and five more rivers were found feasible for tourism and ferry services in the state. These rivers have already been declared National Waterways by the ministry. The Aai river, with a length of 68.48 km, has been named as National Waterway 6; Beki river of length 68.9 km is National Waterway 18; Dehing river, with a length of 109.13 km, is declared National Waterway 30; Subansiri, having a length of 106.45 km, is now dubbed National Waterway 95; and Jinjiram river of length 42.57 km has been named National Waterway 50. A part of the Jinjiram river also falls in the state of Meghalaya.

The central government has taken up development work for some of the existing National Waterways in the state. Comprehensive development of the Barak river or NW-16, and the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route at a cost of Rs. 148 crore have been approved. This includes fairway development and works like the upgrading of Badarpur and Karimganj terminals, the construction of a terminal at Maia on the Ganga river and the construction of a terminal at Sonamura on the Gumti river.

The Centre has also approved development work for the NW-31 or Dhansiri river at a cost of Rs. 84 crore.

The development of NW-57 or river Kopili has also been approved at a cost of Rs. 32 crore.