Centre's focus on development of waterways in NE: Sarbananda Sonowal

PM to flag off MV Ganga Vilas, lay foundation of Ship Repair Facility, inaugurate Maritime Skill Centre

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: For the development of Assam and the north-eastern region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch several projects from Varanasi on January 13, including the world's longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas. These projects will be a part of India's Act East Policy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off MV Ganga Vilas, inaugurate the Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast and lay the foundation for the Ship Repair Facility at Pandu Multi-Modal terminal and an elevated road connecting the Multi-Modal Terminal at Pandu with National Highway 27 in Guwahati.

Sharing details about these projects while addressing a press conference in Guwahati today, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal. said, "Prime Minister Modi has always laid stress on the development of the north-eastern region on all fronts. He regards the north-eastern states as 'Ashta Lakshmi' (eight forms of the goddess of wealth). His vision for the Northeast is 'Transformation through Transportation'. Several development projects taken up in the north-eastern region are turning Prime Minister Modi's vision into reality."

He said that till 2014 the Look East Policy was never implemented. But after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, the Act East Policy was implemented. "MV Ganga Vilas – the world's longest river cruise– will be another success story under the Centre's Act East Policy," he said and added that the Centre's focus was on the development of waterways in the Northeast.

MV Ganga Vilas will cover a distance of more than 3,200 km across 27 river systems in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bangladesh Protocol Route and finally Assam. The 51-day luxury cruise will start from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and conclude in Dibrugarh in Assam. It will cover many important tourist spots, including world heritage sites, national parks, river ghats, and major cities.

The MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 metres in length and 12 metres in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 metres. It has three decks, and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the amenities to provide a memorable and luxurious experience for the tourists. The maiden voyage of MV Ganga Vilas will have 32 tourists from Switzerland. The expected date of arrival of MV Ganga Vilas in Dibrugarh is March 1, 2023. Each passenger will have to bear 300 US dollars per day for this journey.

Sonowal said, "Ganga Vilas will open up a new vista for tourism in the country. As the cruise will spend more than 10 days in Assam, the foreign tourists will be able to explore and experience a new horizon of socio-cultural hue along the river coast. From Dhubri to Dibrugarh and from Mayong to Majuli, this cruise has curated an interesting journey where the natural beauty of Assam will be relished. Its success will open a new avenue of investment in river cruise tourism in Assam. We hope that its multiplier impact on the economy of the State will be manifold."

The MV Ganga Vilas will stop at Dhubri, Goalpara (Jogighopa), Guwahati (Pandu), Pobitora, Tezpur, Silghat, Kaziranga and Nimatighat before anchoring at Dibrugarh (Bogibeel) in Assam. It is operated by private players along with the governmental partnership.

Sonowal also said that Prime Minister Modi would inaugurate the Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast to ramp up capacity in Pandu port in Guwahati on January 13 and lay the foundation of the Ship Repair Facility at Pandu Multi-Modal terminal and an elevated road connecting the Multi-Modal Terminal at Pandu with National Highway 27 in Guwahati. The facilities are part of major initiatives planned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways for revamping inland waterways in Assam and the Northeast.

The Union Minister also announced an investment of Rs 1016 crore for the development of inland waterways in Assam. A comprehensive package to develop Brahmaputra (NW2) has now been enhanced to Rs 474 crore as well as an enhanced package of Rs 148 crore has been earmarked for the development of Barak River (NW 16) recently. The ministry has also approved development of Dhansiri River (NW 31) and Kopili River (NW 57).

The Union Minister said, "The Ship Repair facility at the Pandu Terminal will save time and money. The facility will cater the repair of vessels of the Inland Water Transport (IWT), Government of Assam, Inland Waterways Authority of India (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 and 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 opportunity in the bourgeoning logistics industry."

A total of 100 students will be trained at the Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast. He further said that infrastructure development work was going on in the Barak Valley at Badarpur and Karimganj. When asked about the Kaladan Road Project, Sonowal said that the project was ready for operation.

The Kaladan Road Project is a US$484 million project connecting the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar by sea. In Myanmar, it will then link Sittwe seaport to Paletwa in Chin State via the Kaladan river boat route, and then from Paletwa by road to Mizoram in Northeast India.

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