UNION Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday announced an investment of more than Rs 4,800 crore to transform the inland waterways sector of the State at the Advantage Assam 2.0 in Guwahati. “The money will be invested to enable the immense potential that the complex and dynamic waterways system of the State has to offer to propel the growth and development of the region towards realising the vision of PM Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat,” Sonowal asserted at the session on Assam’s Roads, Railway and Riverine Tourism on the second day of the investment summit. Speaking on the occasion, Sarbananda Sonowal said that, under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the country is cruising ahead towards realising the vision of Viksit Bharat. “Assam along with the Northeast plays an integral part in propelling this journey to realise the vision of Modi ji. Inland Waterways plays a crucial role in this scheme of things as the visionary Modi ji planned its revival in 2014 from near obscurity and neglect of the past.

 

With its rich interweb of the riverine system in the region, especially in Assam with Brahmaputra (NW2) and Barak (NW16), the inland waterways aim at rejuvenating its ageless role as the main conduit of trade and commerce,” he said. “Globally considered as futuristic, the inland waterways provide an opportunity to opt for a more economic, efficient and environment-friendly mode of transporting cargo and passengers.

 

With the launch of schemes like ‘Jalvahak’, the Modi Government has been incentivising businesses to switch to inland waterways, thereby, improving the economies of scale, decongesting the railways and roadways and enabling a conducive ecosystem that is vital for the pivotal role Assam is set to play towards India’s ascendency to become world’s biggest and an Atmanirbhar economy by 2047,” Sonowal added.