Inland Water Transport System for the Northeast

In News

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is planning to run a fixed schedule sailing between NW1 and NW2.

Ganga Brahmaputra Cargo

• Importance:
  • It is an important event as it has taken inland water transport, on two of India’s largest river systems, to the future.
  • It has rekindled hope for the inland water transport system which the landlocked northeast depended on heavily before India’s independence in 1947.
• Pilot Project:
  • The shipping of cargo from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh was FCI’s pilot project. 
  • It is expected to lead to regular services between NW1 and NW2 “heralding a new age of inland water transport” for the northeast. 
• Passage: 
  • It passed through Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar in India, Khulna, Narayanganj, Sirajganj and Chilmari in Bangladesh and again to India on National Waterway-2 (NW2, river Brahmaputra) through Dhubri and Jogighopa covering 2,350 km.
• Project timeline: 
  • The seven-year dredging project on these two stretches till 2026 is expected to yield seamless navigation to the north-eastern region.
• Benefits: 
  • The start of cargo movement through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route is going to provide the business community a viable, economic and ecological alternative. Seamless cargo transportation has been a necessity for the northeast.
  • It will help in the booming of Tourism industry also.
  • The distance between NW1 and NW2 will reduce by almost 1,000 km once the IBP routes are cleared for navigation.
• How did it happen between India and Bangladesh?
  • Protocol signed: 
    • The resumption of cargo transport service through the waterways in Bangladesh has come at a cost since the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade was signed between the two countries.
  • Investment: 
    • India has invested 80% of ?305.84 crore to improve the navigability of the two stretches of the IBP (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol) routes — Sirajganj-Daikhowa and Ashuganj-Zakiganj in Bangladesh.
    • The Government has also undertaken the Jal Marg Vikas project with an investment of ?4,600-crore to augment the capacity of NW1 for sustainable movement of vessels weighing up to 2,000 tonnes.

Regular Inland Water Service and North East

• History: 
  • Around Independence, Assam’s per capita income was the highest in the country primarily because of access for its tea, timber, coal and oil industries to seaports on the Bay of Bengal via the Brahmaputra and the Barak River (southern Assam) systems. 
  • Ferry services continued sporadically after 1947 but stopped after the 1965 war with Pakistan, as Bangladesh used to be East Pakistan then.
• Changed scenario: 
  • The scenario changed after the river routes were cut off and rail and road through the “Chicken’s Neck”, a narrow strip in West Bengal, became costlier alternatives. 

Inland Water Transport (IWT) in India

• About: 
  • India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. 
  • It has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. 
• Restricted operations:
  • Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the:
    • Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers, 
    • the Brahmaputra, 
    • the Barak river, 
    • the rivers in Goa, 
    • the backwaters in Kerala, 
    • inland waters in Mumbai and 
    • the deltaic regions of the Godavari – Krishna rivers.
• Challenges in connectivity: 
  • Freight transportation by waterways is highly underutilised in the country as compared to developed countries.
  • India’s hinterland connectivity is mainly based on road and rail with domestic waterways— both coastal shipping and inland waterways—playing a limited role. 
• National Waterways Act: 
  • The National Waterways Act, 2016 has declared 111 inland waterways as ‘National Waterways (NWs) in the country to promote shipping and navigation on them. 
  • The total length of NWs is 20,275 km spread across 24 states in the country. 
• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):
  • It is an autonomous organisation constituted on 27th October 1986 under the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985. 
  • IWAI is primarily responsible for the development, maintenance and regulation of those waterways which have been declared as NWs under the National Waterways Act, 2016. 
  • The head office of IWAI is at Noida, UP. 
  • The policy guidelines and directions issued by IWT Wing are implemented by IWAI.

Image Courtesy: IE 

Significance  

• Waterways are found to be cost-effective as well as an environmentally friendly means of transporting freight. 
• In India, Inland Water Transport (IWT) has the potential to supplement the over-burdened railways and congested roadways. 
• In addition to cargo movement, the IWT sector also provides a convenient function in related activities such as carriage of vehicles {on Roll-on-Roll-off (Ro-Ro) mode of cross ferry} and tourism.

Way Ahead

• This historic feat will usher a new era of growth for all the states of Northeast India. 
• The waterways will cut through the landlocked access which has been crippling development in the region for long. 
• The waterways not only remove this geographical hindrance on the road of progress in the region but also provides an economical, swift and convenient transportation for the businesses and people of the region.

Source: TH