Two more jetties planned in Assam

A few years ago, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) had built two jetties at Pandu, near Guwahati, on the Brahmaputra river in Assam at a cost of Rs 70 crore. The professed objective was to promote cargo movement by the river route to and from that region. The experience so far leaves much to be desired — only two vessels were handled at the jetties in as many years. Worse, the volume of traffic was so small that the income from the cargo hire did not cover even the cost of fuel. All this despite the availability of transport subsidy in the North East.

Undaunted, IWAI is now going ahead with its plan to construct two more jetties on the same Brahmaputra river but at new locations. The locations are Dhubri and Hatsingimari, in Assam. The cost is estimated at not less than Rs 70 crore. CPWD may be asked to construct the jetties. Therefore, the question is whether proper technical feasibility report and cargo analysis have been undertaken for the proposed jetties. This is important because inquiries reveal that the river is not stable at these two locations. Also, a steady flow of traffic throughout the year appears to be a remote possibility. At the most, there may be some seasonal cargo. It is further learnt that IWAI owns half a dozen cargo vessels.