A Memorandum of Understanding for ‘Riverine based tourism Circuit’ being developed over river Brahmaputra will be signed between Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDC) and Directorate of Inland Water Transport (DIWT) Assam in Guwahati on May 19, 2023, an official statement said.
The signing ceremony will take place in the presence of Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In this regard, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) said that the ‘Riverine-based tourism Circuit’ will connect seven historic temples in the region and the project is being developed at the initial cost of Rs 40-45 crores.
“The project is being developed under the Sagarmala Programme at an initial cost of Rs 40-45 crores. SDCL and IWAI will jointly contribute 55 percent of the project cost while the remaining will be provided by ATDC. DIWT has consented to provide the usage of Ghats near the temples free of cost for the project,” the ministry said.
This Sagarmala project will connect the seven historic temples namely Kamakhya, Pandunath, Ashwaklanta, Doul Govinda, Umananda, Chakreshwar and Auniati Satra situated in Guwahati. The circuit will sail from Hanuman Ghat, Uzan Bazar and will complete its journey by covering all the above-mentioned temples through waterways. The ferry service is expected to reduce the overall travel time to less than 2 hours for completing one complete circuit, the ministry added.