India's waterways could provide greatest opportunities for young entrepreneurs, says Sarbananda Sonowal

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Tuesday said that waterways in the country could provide the greatest opportunities for our young entrepreneurs as within a radius of 2,000 kilometres, we have the country's big cities with a combined population of 800 million.

A two-day event, Waterways Conclave 2022, was organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and ICC as the industry partners in Dibrugarh, Assam.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the Waterways Conclave 2022, he said we could anchor robust business relations with our neighbour nations through the optimal and holistic development of the ecosystem of waterways.

The Minister invited the industry to proactively partner with the government in the waterways sector and contribute to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's AatmNirbhar Bharat vision.

In his address, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Assam is implementing Rs 770 crores Assam Inland Water Transport project to provide safe and convenient ferry services to passengers. Talking about the importance of the waterways ecosystem in the northeast, he said that the Brahmaputra basin possesses nearly 30 per cent of India's water resource potential and cargo movement through waterways would significantly reduce dependence on cargo transportation for roadways.

"Regular movement of cargo through waterways would create job opportunities and open international market for local products through cost-effective transport", he said.

Alluding to the importance of achieving logistics efficiency and, in turn, the waterways sector, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in his virtual address, said that the logistics cost is 8 to 10 per cent (of the cost of goods) in China, 10-12 per cent in the European countries and around 12 per cent in USA and 16 per cent in India.

The minister averred that waterways are the most cost-effective medium of transport compared to road and railways, "as far as the logistic cost is concerned, the waterways is the ultimate mission for all of us", he added.

Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region G Kishan Reddy, in his virtual address, said that waterways would be significantly helpful in realising the potential of abundant natural resources in the northeast.

Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that citizens must try to achieve as high a share of the waterways sector as possible in the logistics mix, comprising rail, road, and waterways in the country.

"One litre of fuel will transport one tonne of freight, 24 kilometres by road, 95 kilometres by rail, and an impressive 215 kilometres by waterways", the minister said.

Lyonpo Loknath Sharma, Minister of Economic Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan, said that the trade between Bhutan and India was increasing and invited the stakeholders to work towards enhancing the link between Assam and East Bhutan, which has a vast potential in terms of economy of scale. "Leveraging waterway is the answer", he said, and added, "we are looking forward to regional connectivity".

Highlighting the potential of the waterways ecosystem in Bangladesh, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, State Minister of Shipping, Government of Bangladesh, said that "there are 700 rivers in Bangladesh, out of which 54 are on the boundary between Bangladesh and India".

Addressing the gathering virtually, Chowdhury said that about 8480 kilometres of the navigable waterway of Bangladesh could be utilised for transportation and distribution of goods between Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan".

Union Minister of State, External Affairs, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said that close to 99 per cent of India's northeast region boundaries are international and pointed to the need "to explore and leverage the proximity of the Bay of Bengal".

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli said that 111 waterways had been declared national waterways. He added that waterways in the northeast would be an alternative to the Siliguri region, commonly referred to as the chicken neck of the country.

Alluding to the numerous milestones achieved in the waterways sector, Sanjeev Ranjan, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said that a record movement of 4.5 million metric tonnes under the Bangladesh India Protocol Route had been achieved.

( With inputs from ANI )