Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal today said that a special purpose vehicle (SPV) has been formed to promote river cruise religous tourism circuit in Assam. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Sonowal said an SPV, comprising Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited, IWAI, and the Inland Water Transport and Tourism Department of the Government of Assam, has taken up the development of a religious tourism circuit connecting seven temples, namely Lachit Ghat, Aswaklanta Temple Ghat, Doul Govinda Mandir Ghat, Hanuman Mandir Ghat (Uzan Bazar), Umananda Ghat, Pandunath Ghat, and Kamakhya Temple, using suitable vessels under a hop-on hop-off model.
He said the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) is actively promoting river-cruise tourism in the NE. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), an autonomous organisation under MoPSW, is developing dedicated cruise terminals on National Waterway (NW)-2 (Brahmaputra River). Locations earmarked for development of cruise terminals include Guwahati, Neamati, Biswanath Ghat, Silghat, and Guijan. The Minister further said that comprehensive development of NW-2 has been undertaken at a cost of Rs. 498 crore during the period 2020–21 to 2024–25. Major projects include construction of the Bogibeel and Jogighopa terminals, tourist jetties at Bogibeel and Pandu, regular fairway development works, and installation of navigational aids for smooth shipping and navigation. Further, construction of a ship repair facility at Pandu and an elevated road connecting National Highway 27 with Pandu Port and the ship repair facility has also been taken up at a cost of Rs. 419 crore.
Comprehensive development of NW-16 (Barak River) has been undertaken at a cost of Rs. 134.72 crore from 2020–21. Key projects include upgradation of terminals at Badarpur and Karimganj, fairway development, maintenance of navigational aids, and procurement of amphibian dredgers, etc.
NW-57 (Kopili River) has been operationalized with the movement of 300 metric tonnes of cement from Chandrapur (Kamrup) to Hatsingimari (South Salmara–Mankachar). Under the Central Sector Schemes (CSS) for development of IWT in NER States, projects have been sanctioned for terminal and fairway development, as well as for procurement of small passenger vessels.