UNION Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday laid foundation stones for four river lighthouses on the banks of the Brahmaputra, the first such infrastructure on an inland waterway in the country. The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways kick-started the process to construct the lighthouses at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district, Pandu in Kamrup Metropolitan, and Silghat in Nagaon district in the south bank of the river, and Biswanath Ghat in Biswanath in the north bank. Laying the foundation stone at a function here, Sonowal said these four lighthouses are located at strategic points along the Brahmaputra, which is the National Waterway-2 and one of India’s most important inland cargo and passenger corridors.

 

The combined project outlay for all the four structures will be Rs 84 crore. Each lighthouse will rise up to 20 metres with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8-10 nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy. Alongside navigation infrastructure, every site will feature a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children’s play area, souvenir shop and landscaped public spaces, positioning each lighthouse as a tourist landmark as well as a functional maritime asset, the Minister said. “A tonne of freight moved by water costs a fraction of what road transport demands, generates a fraction of the carbon and frees our highways for passengers and time-sensitive goods. These lighthouses on the Brahmaputra are a statement of intent that India’s rivers are open for business, round the clock,” he added.