Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India — Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways · PIB Delhi · Read the original release on pib.gov.in
- Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flags off consignment of 540 tonnes of APCL methanol from Bogibeel to Dhaka; Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma participated in the program virtually.
- This journey on the Brahmaputra (National Waterway-2) will test the river's potential as a freight corridor connecting North-East India to foreign markets.
- “The whistle of the steamer which had stopped in 1956 was heard again today”: Sarbananda Sonowal
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal today flagged off the DLB Patkai vessel being towed by efficient Konwar tugboat with 540 MT of Methanol from Bogibeel Terminal, Dibrugarh to Bangladesh. Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the occasion virtually. After India's independence (in 1947), almost 70 years later (after the closure of the city's river wharf), this is the first cargo sent from Upper Assam to a foreign port.
The methanol produced by Namrup-based state-owned Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited (APCL) is headed for Pangaon port in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The ship will reach the India-Bangladesh border via National Waterway-2 on the Brahmaputra River in India, covering a distance of about 768 kilometers and then proceed on the India-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR). The vessel will cover a total distance of 1,300 kilometers from Bogibeel in Dibrugarh to Narayanganj in Dhaka.
The voyage is being seen as a test whether the Brahmaputra can function as a commercially viable freight corridor connecting the Northeast to foreign markets. There is a plan to send regular consignments of methanol to Bangladesh. Sending this consignment has become possible after the recent establishment of Customs and Immigration complexes at Bogibeel and Dhubri.
Shri Sonowal said, "Our grandparents grew up listening to the whistle of steamers on the Dibrugarh ghat. For 70 years this whistle was not heard and ships stopped coming and going. Today a ship is sailing from Dibrugarh again to the world. The river has never disappointed us. What it lacked for decades was the will to revive it."
Chief Minister Shri Hemanta Vishwa Sarma described it as a day of pride for Assam. He said, "Assam's own product, which is made in Namrup, is now reaching the international market through Assam's own river. The Northeast is no longer a frontier region. It is India's gateway to the east."
Mr Sonowal said this shipment is a start. He said, "This is the first journey, not the last. This is what I have to say to the youth of Assam: Dream along this river. The world is no longer far away, but right along the river's flow. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Dibrugarh, the tea capital of India, is reclaiming its old glory as a great river port. We are building it up with world-class infrastructure while respecting its heritage. The whistle of the steamer is being heard again since 1956."
Dibrugarh was once one of the busiest river ports in eastern India. By 1856, government steamers from Calcutta (now Kolkata) reached the city. In 1882, the Dibru-Sadiya Railway started operations from Dibrugarh Steamer Ghat. Until 1913, steamers ran daily up the Brahmaputra River to the city carrying tea, timber and passengers.
The partition of 1947 cut off the route by which goods from Assam had to pass through East Pakistan to reach Kolkata. The 1950 earthquake affected the river bed in Dibrugarh. Regular booking from Dibrugarh Ghat stopped in 1954 and as tea was being transported by rail, the Ghat was closed on 15 October 1956. The 1965 war between India and Pakistan halted cross-border river trade. India and Bangladesh signed a river trade protocol in 1972. In 1988, the 891 km long stretch of the Brahmaputra River from Sadiya to Dhubri was declared National Waterway-2. Even after the transportation of cement from Pandu to Dhubri started, regular freight service on this waterway did not start till December 2017.
Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, "For decades, that glory was allowed to tarnish. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we resolved to give Dibrugarh back its rightful place. The Bogibeel Terminal, Customs and Immigration Complex and regular freight services under 'Jalvahak' are providing modern amenities and world-class infrastructure to this historic city. We are building the future while at the same time reviving the heritage that made Dibrugarh great. Today, as goods are once again leaving Dibrugarh for foreign ports, the city’s glorious past and its bright future meet on the same river.”
Since then activities on this route have increased. Tata Steel barges reached Pandu via Bangladesh in February 2022, and river cruise ship MV Ganga Vilas departed Varanasi for Dibrugarh via Bangladesh in 2023. Bogibeel Passenger and Cargo Terminal, the foundation stone of which was laid in July 2023, was opened in February 2024. The ‘Water Carrier’ Goods Incentive Program was launched in December in the year 2024.
According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, freight traffic on India's national waterways is set to increase from 18 million metric tonnes in fiscal year 2013-14 to 218 million metric tonnes in 2025-26. More than Rs 68 billion (about $770 million) is being invested in the waterways of the Northeast, which includes the development of National Waterway-2, ship repair facility at Pandu and connectivity to Pandu Port.
“Moving goods through rivers reduces fuel consumption and also reduces the number of trucks on the highways,” Mr Sonowal said. He said India is working closely with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar for regional waterways connectivity.
The visit included Inland Waterways Authority of India, Assam Petro-Chemicals, Cochin Bunkers Private Limited and their partners in Bangladesh.
Assam government ministers Charan Boro, Bimal Borah and Sushant Borgohain and Rajya Sabha members Terash Gowala, Dibrugarh LAC MLA Prashant Phukan and Khowang LAC MLA Chakradhar Gogoi, IWAI Chief Engineer AK Bansal and Assam Petro-Chemicals APCL Chairman Bikul Chandra Deka and officials of APCL, IWAI and Assam government were present in the historic event.
This is the official press release issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), and is published without changes.