GUWAHATI, August 27: Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal urged the stakeholders from the Northeast to prioritise products from the region which could be exported to foreign countries.
Addressing the stakeholder conclave on “Waterways as engine for growth” here on Friday, Sonowal said the Union government was laying topmost priority on waterway connectivity in the Northeast as a result of which Mongla and Chittagong ports have become accessible.
“The Centre is striving hard to make the Northeast a growth engine of the country and the region is taking speed on the path of development,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that while the potential of waterways in the region remained dormant for a long period after Independence, it was under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the waterways sector received a new momentum in the Northeast.
Terming waterways the cheapest and a very eco-friendly medium of transportation, the chief minister urged exporters and business communities to come forward to take advantage of the waterways.
The chief minister thanked Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal for his initiatives in rejuvenating the waterways sector for the benefit of the Northeastern region.
The Union ministry of ports, shipping and waterways is also taking initiatives to promote river tourism and water sports along the Brahmaputra.
In this regard, the ministry has identified seven tentative locations (Oriumghat, Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Koliabhomora Bridge at Tezpur, Bogibeel Bridge, DikhowMukh, Kalongmukh and Uzanbazar) for development of tourist jetties.
Construction of tourists’ jetties will facilitate river tourism, generate local employment and also growth for local business.
These jetties would be in addition to the four tourist jetties at Jogighopa, Pandu, Neamati and Bishwanath Ghat, which have already been approved.