Assam will soon get four new Ro-Pax vessels, which will be operated in the National Waterways No. 2 stretching from Dhubri to Sadiya.
The vessels are already en-route from Kolkata to Guwahati via Bangladesh and have reached Hemnagar, West Bengal on July 27.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India, Ministry of Shipping, will deliver the vessels, built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
The new Ro-Pax vessels have a capacity of 200 passengers and along with these, can carry 2 trucks and 4 cars.
These vessels have low draft, good maneuverability in comparison to Ro-Ro vessels, already being used in the state, which had less maneuverability due to bigger size and high draft for which it faced difficulty in plying over River Brahmaputra.
The Ro-Pax vessels will replace the earlier Ro-Ro vessels.
Out of four new Ro-Pax vessels being brought to the state, two vessels would be placed in Majuli, one in Guwahati and another one in Dhubri.
State Transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, in a statement, said: “We are deeply concerned with the plight of the inhabitants of Majuli and people of other parts of Assam for the non-functioning of Ro-Ro vessels operated by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Government of India… The new vessels have been procured to mitigate the problems of the commuters who are dependent on the waterways.”
