Guwahati, May 18: Seven religious sites here will soon be connected by waterways under the Sagarmala project.
The religious sites include Kamakhya, Pandunath, Ashwaklanta, Doul Govinda, Umananda, Chakreshwar and Auniati Satra.
In this connection, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for ‘riverine-based tourism circuit,’ being developed over the Brahmaputra, will be signed between Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDC) and Directorate of Inland Water Transport (DIWT) Assam here on Friday.
The signing ceremony will take place in the presence of Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The project is being developed under the Sagarmala programme at an initial cost of Rs 40 to Rs 45 crore.
SDCL and IWAI will jointly contribute 55 percent of the project cost while the remaining funds will be provided by ATDC.
DIWT has consented to provide the usage of ghats near the temples free of cost for the project.
The circuit will sail from Hanuman Ghat, Uzan Bazar and will complete its journey by covering the seven religious sites through waterways.
The ferry service is expected to reduce the overall travel time to less than two hours for completing one complete circuit.