Centre sanctions over Rs 24 cr for dredging in Gomati river to boost Indo-Bangla waterway project

The Centre has sanctioned over Rs 24 crore for dredging in Gomati, a transboundary river between India and Bangladesh, and setting up 10 jetties for a waterway project, an official said on Sunday.

Of the total 93-km proposed waterway from Sonamura in Tripura's Sepahijala district to Daudkandi in the neighbouring country, around 15.5-km stretch needs dredging to operationalise the route, he said.

“The Ministry of Shipping has sanctioned Rs 24.53 crore to undertake dredging works in Gomati and construction of 10 floating jetties from Udaipur in Gomati district to Sonamura," state transport department principal secretary L Darlong said. Only 1.5-km stretch in India and 14-km in the neighbouring country are proposed to be dredged to improve navigability in the transboundary river, he said.

The state government has already requested the Inland Waterways Authority of India to help the local administration for the strategic project.

"The Centre will take up the dredging issue with the Bangladesh government to commence such work on its part," he said. A permanent jetty would come up near Srimantapur Land Customs Sation in Sonamura with an estimated cost of Rs 5.04 crore, the official said.

“We came to know that IWAI has already floated tender for construction of a permanent jetty at Srimantapur. The authorities were asked to finalise the process of awarding the contract soon to expedite the project," he said.

The Centre has set a goal to bring vessels with a carrying capacity of 200-300 tonnes from Daudkandi to Sonamura by the end of May. Union Minister of Ports and Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal is scheduled to visit the state on February 15 to review progress of the project, he added. A trial run on the waterway from Bangladesh to Tripura was carried out in September 2020.

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