IWAI explores waterways in Meghalaya

SHILLONG, Aug 3: The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on Thursday held its first meeting in Shillong with stakeholders in the mining sector to explore the idea of transporting cargo including coal through the national waterways.
The focus of the meeting was on exploring how minerals from the state can be moved using the waterways at a cheaper rate besides integrating the Northeast through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route.
IWAI’s member (Traffic and Logistics), Vinayak Azaad said goods to and from Meghalaya can be handled by terminal operators at Pandu and Dhubri in Assam.
These terminals provide access to the IBP route as well as mainland India beyond, he said.
He said the waterways in the state need to be studied for transporting goods. “We have asked the Meghalaya government to provide us with a list of rivers flowing into Bangladesh, which can be navigated for cargo transport.
“Once we receive it, we can study the navigable stretches of such waterways,” Azaad said.
Azaad said the cost of transportation of cargo through waterways is almost one-fourth of that of moving goods by road. “Moreover, waterways is more environment-friendly,” he added.
The meeting was attended by miners who were recently granted a scientific mining lease.
Sajay Laloo, a coal miner said trade via the waterways could cut logistics costs.