Cargo movement through inland waterways grew at 7.5% in Apr-Nov 2023: Govt

Cargo Movement through Inland Waterways in India between April and November 2023, stood at 86.47 MMT, against 80.44 MMT in April and November 2022, registering a growth of 7.49 per cent, the Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways said in a release on Tuesday.

The ministry informed about initiatives taken in 2023 and also talked about the Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC) to develop Inland Water Transport (IWT) in India. “The Union Minister will chair this initiative, with participation from State Governments/UTs and other Union Ministries as members. This will boost cargo, passenger movement, and river cruise tourism,” the ministry said. 

Throwing light on the efforts made by the government to boost river cruise tourism in India, the ministry said, “ The world's longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas was flagged off by PM Modi in 2023. The 51-day cruise from Varanasi to Dibrugarh will cover over 3,200 km across five Indian states and Bangladesh, with visits to 50 tourist spots. The ship is 62 meters long, 12 meters wide, with three decks and 18 suites accommodating 36 tourists,” the release stated. 

Similarly, Ro-Ro services by Bahri Line, a shipping carrier from Saudi Arabia were also started in 2023. “Ro-Ro service called FE service (Far East Europe) from Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL) in January The new Ro-Ro service directly connects China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Europe (Germany, France, and Belgium), providing a direct opportunity for exporters and importers,” the government release read. 

In addition, the ministry also launched an online Dredging Monitoring System (Sagar Samriddhi) launched by the Minister for PSW aims to streamline the monitoring of dredging activities at Major Ports/IWAI, increase the productivity of dredgers, and achieve daily targets for timely completion of dredging projects.