Riverine-based tourism circuit to connect seven religious sites in Guwahati

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a riverine based tourism circuit being developed over the Brahmaputra was signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDC) and the Directorate of Inland Water Transport (DIWT) Assam in Guwahati on Friday

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways the ‘Riverine-based Tourism Circuit’ will connect seven historic religious sites in the region

The project will connect the seven historic temples of Kamakhya, Pandunath, Ashwaklanta, Doul Govinda, Umananda, Chakreshwar and Auniati Sattra in Guwahati

The circuit will sail from Hanuman Ghat in Uzan Bazar and complete its journey by covering all the seven religious sites through waterways

The ferry service is expected to reduce the overall travel time to less than 2 hours for completing one complete circuit

The riverine tourism project is being developed under the Sagarmala Programme at an initial cost of Rs 40-45 crore

SDCL and IWAI will jointly contribute 55 per cent of the project cost, while the remaining will be provided by ATDC

The Directorate of Inland Water Transport has consented to provide the usage of ghats free of cost for the project

#tourism #brahmaputra #religion