Medilytix Bureau:India’s longest river cruise service will begin early next year between Varanasi and Bogibeel. Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal stated that the service will travel over 4,000 kilometres through Ganga, the Indo-Bangla Protocol Route (IBPR), and Brahmaputra.
Speaking after launching multiple projects for the development of Bogibeel, Sonowal said this route is going to usher in an opportunity for the people of Assam to use inland waterways to promote their trade and livelihood in tourism and cargo transportation.
Under the plan, two floating jetties at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district and Guijan in Tinsukia district will be constructed. Both the jetties are being constructed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) over the National Waterways-2 (NW-2), popularly known as the River Brahmaputra.
The work has been awarded to Coastal Consolidated Structures Pvt. Ltd. on an EPC contract mode (engineering, procurement, and construction). “The two jetties are estimated to be built at a cost of 8.25 crores and are scheduled to be completed by February, 2023,” an official statement said. A permanent cargo terminal at Bogibeel is also being planned for conducive transport of cargo from the neighbouring industries like Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited, and Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation, among others.