Cargo movement to commence from Varanasi & Haldia to Pandu port in Assam

The movement of heavy cargo ships from Varanasi and Haldia to Pandu port in Assam through riverways is expected to begin by mid-2022,said Union minister, Sarbananda Sonowal. “Dredging work at critical junctures in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers has already been initiated by his ministry to facilitate the movement of large cargo ships. By mid-2022, I am hopeful that cargo ships of 2,000 metric tonnes from Haldia and Varanasi will start sailing to Pandu. This is going to be a major boost to trade and industry of the North-eastern region,”, he said.
Support from experts in Tezpur University, IIT Guwahati, and IIM Shillong will be sought to make the dredging work successful in the Brahmaputra, the minister said. Further he added that the PM has instructed concerned authorities to make arrangements to dredge a stretch of 2-2.5 metre in the two rivers so that cargo vessels, passenger ships, and seaplanes can utilize it.
“The potential of the Brahmaputra as well as other rivers of Northeast is huge and people will get direct benefit from the development of river tourism, cargo transportation, and an alternative economic transportation system,” Sonowal said.