Ola inks pact with Assam for operating ‘River Taxis’ on Brahmaputra River

Guwahati, February 5: Advantage Assam has drawn around Rs 70,000 Crores of investments from the investors during “Global Investors’ Summit”. Ola, India’s top transport company has inked MoU with Assam’s Inland Water Transport Department for operating river taxis on the Brahmaputra.

Initially, Ola will run two such taxis in the city on a trial basis, the first of which is likely to arrive in a day or two.

Inland Water Transport Director BBD Choudhury said that the 15-20 seater taxis will be run on two routes, one connecting both the banks of the Brahmaputra and another as a cruise.

“We will initially check the route viability and demand. If successful, we will deploy more such taxis,” he added. Though costlier, the river taxis will provide faster transportation.

“We also plan to connect the airport through the taxis from Lachit Ghat in the city and integrate the service with flight bookings. The government will provide the terminal facility for the taxis,” Choudhury added further.

A river taxi will take around 15 minutes to reach the airport from Lachit Ghat. The long-term plan of the government is to provide intercity connectivity with the river taxis across the State. “We want to touch all towns and cities that are near the river banks,” he added.

Assam is the ‘Gateway’ to connect ASEAN countries; Advantage Summit- has drawn core investments of nearly Rs.70,000 Crores in several sectors like petroleum, telecom, health and tourism.