Inland water cargo soars from 18 to 145 million tonnes in 10 years: Sarbananda

Guwahati, May 25: With the Prime Minister giving special emphasis on the development of waterways, the volume of goods carried through inland waterways increased manifold in the last 10 years and one of the leading companies of the world has come forward to invest heavily in this sector, said the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Sonowal said that during the Congress regime, only 18 million tonnes of goods were transported through inland waterways and the volume has now increased to 145 million tonnes. With the Government of India laying stress on further development of waterways, the volume is likely to increase manifold in the days to come, he added.

The Union Minister revealed that one of the leading logistics companies of the world – Rhenus Logistics of Germany, which has an annual turnover of 36 billion US dollar, will invest heavily in the waterways sector in India. The company, which is operating in 70 countries across the world, will bring in 100 barges of different capacities in a phased manner over the next three years to operate in the Brahmaputra, Ganga and Barak rivers, which will give a major boost to inland waterways.

Sonowal said the company would bring in barges with different capacities to carry loads of 400 MT, 500 MT and 2,000 MT to operate in the three National Waterways. The company has already carried out survey of the rivers in the lean period and the barges of the company can even operate in shallow waters. The minimum depth of water required by these barges to operate is only two metres.

The Minister revealed that the Dredging Corporation of India has been entrusted with the responsibility of dredging the bed of the river Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri to maintain a waterways channel throughout the year.

Sonowal said that under the Maritime India Vision 2030, the inland water ports are also being developed and they are connected with rail and road. Warehouses are also being constructed near the ports. He pointed out that the Jogighopa port is now connected with rail and road.

“The inland waterways was always a neglected sector. But with the Prime Minister giving special emphasis on the sector, it will lead to major economic development and reduce pollution,” he added.