Union Govt gives top priority to waterway development in northeast: Sarbananda Sonowal

Dimapur (Nagaland) [India], July 15 (ANI): Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said on Monday that northeast India has huge potential in waterways and that the Centre is committed to developing them.

“We are here to develop the waterways for the seamless movement of our vessels. Nagaland, along with other states in the northeast, are highly potentially powerful states in terms of National Waterways and also water bodies,” Sonowal told reporters here.

“There are 101 waterways that link India with Myanmar, as well as the Bay of Bengal. Considering all the available resources, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, & Waterways is taking a lot of initiative in the entire region to give access to the stakeholders and to draw the attention of people from all over the world to the potential in our waterways,” he added.

The minister said that waterways are the most economical, sustainable, and efficient mode of transportation.

“Under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi ji, our government has been working towards enabling our rich resource pool in the country to escalate the growth trajectory of India to become one of the fifth largest economies in the world in less than a decade,” he said

“The Northeast has a major role to play as the growth engine of India, as envisioned by Modi ji. The complex and dynamic mix of waterways in the Northeast provides us with an excellent opportunity to build momentum for the nation. We remain firmly committed and on track to provide impetus for the development of the waterways of the region,” he added.

Earlier in June, Sonowal visited the Noida Head Office of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). During his visit, Sonowal was briefed about the status of the 111 National Waterways in the country and how inland waterways are emerging as a sustainable mode of transportation to complement roadways and railways.

While interacting with senior officials of IWAI, he emphasized the need to develop national waterways across the country and to significantly increase passenger and freight movement on waterways. He praised the efforts made to promote river cruise tourism in the country and recent initiatives such as the introduction of Hybrid Electric Catamaran vessels and the country’s first Hydrogen Vessel.