Guwahati, March 15: The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has achieved a landmark when the motor vessel (MV) Ram Prasad Bismil became the longest vessel ever to sail on the Brahmaputra river, on Tuesday.
The 90 meters long flotilla is 26 meters wide, loaded with a draft of 2.1 meters, successfully completed the aspiring pilot run of heavy cargo movement from Haldia Dock in Kolkata after it anchored at Pandu port in Guwahati.
The significance of this pilot run lays down the path for start of barging operation from Kolkata to Guwahati via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBRP).
The consignment loaded with 1,793 MT of steel rods from Tata Steel in Jamshedpur, had a requirement of draft of 2.0 meters. The engineering marvel of this consignment remains at maintaining the minimum navigational draft of at least 2.0 meters, especially at critical stretches like Sirajganj - Daikowa stretch of IBPR.
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal followed all developments & monitored the dredging work done by IWAI at various areas in this stretch so that the movement between NW1 & NW2 can start on a priority basis.
Sonowal said, “The vision of our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is to energise the Ashtalakshmi potential of Northeast to power the growth engine of India. Under his vision of ‘Transformation through Transportation,’ we worked tirelessly to rejuvenate the water transport in the region. This is not only the cheapest & ecologically most adapt mode of transportation, it also allows the long awaited connect for the business of Northeast through the marine network with the rest of the world."
From Chilmari to Daikhawa, the required depth of 2.2 meters was confirmed by BITWA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority).
The minister further said, “As the pilot run of this longest vessel plying on the Brahmaputra anchors a success at Pandu today, we must recognise that this was made possible by the team to chalk out a working route during this season of challenging depth at many stretches. We remain deeply committed to bring business viability of water transport in Assam and reinvigorate the vitality of Brahmaputra as Northeast India’s economic fortune."