The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal today said that the Tizu-Zungki river, the 101 National Waterways, is one of the most potential waterways in India. He was speaking at the Stakeholder Conference for Development of Inland Waterways held today at Niathu Resort, Chümoukedima, which was organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), Govt of India.
The Union Minister was joined by Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, in announcing development of Tizu-Zungki as both IWAI and the Transport Department of Govt of Nagaland to work together to study for navigation feasibility. Sonowal and Rio also announced to take initiatives to develop the immense tourism potential of Doyang River lake with community jetties as well as study feasibility of Ro Pax ferries which will boost the tourism potential of the State.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always given top priority of the inland waterways in the country as the viable alternative to develop an efficient and effective mode of transportation in the country. “The complex and dynamic mix of waterways of the Northeast provides us an excellent opportunity to build on the nation building momentum,” he said while asserting the Government’s commitment in developing the waterways of the region.
“Northeast has a major role to play as the growth engine of India, as envisioned by Modi,” Sonowal said and called upon the youth of the region to train in maritime skills at the Maritime Skill Development Centre to avail employment opportunities in the marine sector. He expressed hope that the youth from the region will acquire the skills and operate vessels, cruises, and ports not only in India but across the world.
The Union Minister also urged all the stakeholders like transporters, EXIM traders, business interests and vessel owners “to utilities the opportunity provided by the revamped waterways of the region.”
In his address, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said that the visit of Union Minister Sonowal is a wake up call for Nagaland to be part of PM Modi’s vision for a developed India. He stated that ports, shipping and maritime are new to the Nagas but that we must come out from the comfort zone and participate in this promising venture.
Rio pointed out that the biggest and most developed civilizations are those located on the sea shore or river banks because of the waterways, the cheapest mode of transportation. He further said that things have changed but not the usage of water. In fact, waterways are more relevant than ever, he stated while also highlighting how Nagaland would be able to explore and transport its minerals and other products once the Tizu-Zungki waterway is developed.
The conference was also attended by the Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton, Tourism Minister Temjen Imna Along, MP of Lok Sabha S Supongmeren Jamir, MP of Rajya Sabha S Phangnon Konyak, Advisor Mhathung Yanthan, Advisor Temjenmenba, Advisor SK Yimchunger, Advisor Nyusithe, MLA Kipili Santam, Vice Chairman of IWAI, Sunil Singh, Commissioner & Secretary, Transportation Department of Govt of Nagaland among other senior officials from the Government of India as well as the Government of Nagaland.
In Nagaland, the NW 101 flows from Longmatra (Nagaland) towards Avangkhu where the feasibility study of Inland Water Transport (IWT) will be conducted by the IWAI. This will examine from the perspective of fairway development, navigational aids, terminal with minimum infrastructure, skill development and vessel procurement.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), via the IWAI, has been working towards empowering and enabling the complex and dynamic waterways of the region. The agency is working on multiple projects in this regard including the prestigious Kaladaan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, enabling linkage of multiple NWs like NW 2 and NW 16 with Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR), development of fairway on IBPR as well as declaration of Ports of Call among others.
Tizu River in Nagaland further flows into Chindwin River (third largest tributary of river Irrawaddy River), also known as Ningthi River in Myanmar, at Htamanthi in Myanmar. Chinwin River further enters into Irrawaddy river – the largest river of Myanmar. River Irrawaddy further drains into Andaman Sea via Irrawaddy Delta after travelling through river ports like Mandalay Chauk, Prome and Hinthada providing an alternative opportunity to use waterways for cargo movement from Northeast to the international trade routes.
Stakeholder Conference for development of #InlandWaterways concludes with renewed commitment to evolve a robust waterways infrastructure in NER & special emphasis on development of Tizu-Zunki River (NW 101) & Doyang Lake in #Nagaland .@mygovindia @PIB_India @PIBKohima pic.twitter.com/wvmTEr3nXd
— IWAI (@IWAI_ShipMin) July 15, 2024
