IWAI plans to popularise National Waterways via terminals

The Dollar Business Bureau

IWAI or Inland Waterways Authority of India, has made plans to popularise the Varanasi to Haldia NW1 by introducing multi-modal terminals along the stretch. IWAI is an agency that comes under the Shipping Ministry of India. 

Speaking to the reporters, the Chairman of IWAI, Amitabh Verma said the government has planned to set up three terminals at Varanasi for Rs 169 crore, one terminal at Sahebganj, Jharkhand at a cost of Rs 300 crore and one at Haldia for Rs 500 crore.

The government also has plans for a new navigation lock to be set up in the feeder canal in Farakka near West Bengal at a cost of Rs 380 crore.

Verma expressed that the waterways were not being utilised completely since their start as a result there wasnt much of relief from the waterways with regard to easing of traffic congestion on the rail-road traffic. Only 5.6 million tonnes were carried along the Varanasi-Haldia segment in 2015-16.

To make the Varanasi Haldia corridor popular the IWAI held a stakeholder’s conference with the World Bank, which was taking up 50% of the project cost and also plans to add 40 ferries to service the passengers travelling in the route.

Further the government also had plans to provide a link to the Dankuni-Ludhiana Dedicated Freight Corridor with the water corridor and to make use of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route via Ashuganj throughout the year.