Posted on September 4, 2017
By Shilajit Kar Bhowmik, DhakaTribune
The dredging of Brahmaputra River from Sadiya to Dhubri of Assam is set to begin in September-October this year.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will carry out the dredging activities in a phased manner to get the National Waterway 2 operational, as confirmed by highly placed sources in Assam’s Transport Department.
A tripartite agreement in this regard was signed in April 2017.
The dredging will begin from the eastern tip of Assam to its confluence with the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.
Along with the dredging, a 1,300km expressway would be constructed along the Northern and Southern banks of Brahmaputra by using silt from the river itself.
The agreement was signed between the Government of Assam, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) at the closing ceremony of the five-day long Namami Brahmaputra festival, held in Guwahati early this year.
Assam Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said: “Despite Brahmaputra River being National Waterway-2, the river remains unused ever since the British left our country. Till then, the British people utilised the river route for various purposes.”
“That’s why, we have decided to dredge the Brahmaputra River so that the waterway can be made operational,” Patowary added.
Source: DhakaTribune
