New Delhi, India: Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to Bogibeel (Assam) cruise service to start from the beginning of 2023, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Monday (Sep 19).
This will be the nation’s longest river cruise service which begins in early next year between Varanasi and Bogibeel, traversing a distance of more than 4,000 km via Ganga, IBPR and Brahmaputra
The Minister on Monday launched multiple projects for the development of the Bogibeel region near Dibrugarh in Assam. In this regard, the foundation stones were laid by the Union Minister for the construction of two floating jetties at Bogibeel and Guijan. Shri Sonowal also inaugurated Bogibeel Riverfront Passenger Jetty.
The Two floating jetties at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district and Guijan in Tinsukia district will be constructed as state-of-art terminals using the most advanced & updated technology. Both the jetties are being constructed by IWAI over the National Waterways – 2 (NW-2), popularly known as River Brahmaputra.
The work has been awarded to Coastal Consolidated Structures Pvt. Ltd on an EPC contract mode (engineering, procurement, construction). The two jetties are estimated to be built at a cost of ₹ 8.25 crores and are scheduled to be completed by February 2023.
Further to the floating jetties, Ferry Ghats, floating restaurants, public eating stalls, tourist visits, picnic spots, eco resorts and so on are also being planned. A permanent cargo terminal at Bogibeel is also being planned for conducive transport of cargo from the neighbouring industries like Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited, Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corp etc. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being done in this regard. The proposed tourist terminal in the vicinity of the Guijan Ghat is located on the banks of river Lohit.