From: Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal shared the vision of developing the Northeast region by way of developing waterways for smooth passage of passenger & cargo ships. This will energise the economic activities in the region that is going to usher the development of the Northeast region, said the minister at a multi stakeholder talk titled "Brahmaputra River Conclave" organised by the ongoing Northeast Festival hereon Monday. The work to develop the waterways of the country to fuel the economic progress & development of the country is the vision of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The government has already started work to develop the National Waterways of the region, as well as other parts in the country. The idea of "Transformation through Transportation" is being implemented to fuel the economic growth of the Northeast region. The dredging of Brahmaputra is a major initiative to make the river suitable for smooth transportation of passenger and cargo vessels. The work has already begun in this regard. The Minister also emphasised on the need to develop other major rivers of the region so that all states of Northeast can avail the benefit from the development of waterways.
The entrepreneurs of Northeast will be able to transport their goods using these waterways to reach Haldia port in West Bengal via Bangladesh to gain access to international market, especially the southeast Asian region. The Act East Policy of the government will further propel and make a conducive enviornment for trade to prosper in the northeast region, said the Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The conclave was also attended by Rituparna Baruah, Chairman, Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC); Lakshya Konwar, Vice Chairman, Sports Authority of Assam and AS Sivakumar, Regional Director, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
