Barak river stretch to be declared as national waterway

NEW DELHI, Sept 6: The government today said it is in the process of declaring Barak river stretch in Assam as the sixth National Waterway and its steps to augment Inland Water Transport (IWT) infrastructure has met with positive response from investors, including a Rs 650 crore commitment. India has over 14,500 km of navigable waterways but so far only five of them have been declared as national waterways. "Inland Water Transport sector is widely recognized as a fuel-efficient, cost effective and environment-friendly mode of transport...One more waterway that is Barak riverfrom Lakhipur to Bhanga in Assamis in the process of declaration as the sixth National waterway (NW)," Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy told a Parliamentary panel today. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), mandated with the task of developing NWs was upgrading infrastructure at NWs –1, 2 and 3, which has resulted in resulted in positive response from investors, he said. PTI