GUWAHATI: In what can be termed as shot in the arm in the connectivity of Majuli, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday flagged off a new Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo) vessel named, MV Bhupen Hazarika to connect Kamalabari in Majuli River island with Neemati Ghat in Jorhat district at a function held at Majuli.
The new Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo) service launched in collaboration between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Government of Assam is expected to provide much needed safe and fast connectivity for Majuli island, the largest inhabited river island on the earth.
The Ro-Ro service, will cut down the travel time on circuitous road route of 421 km that trucks take from Neemati to Majuli island via Tezpur Road Bridge by limiting the distance to only 12.7 km across the river route.
The vessel which is 46.50 meter long and 13.30 meter wide has the carrying capacity of eight loaded trucks and 100 passengers besides a number of small cars. The vessel has one main engine apart from two other supporting engines. MV Bhupen Hazarika can sail at the speed of 22 km per hour.