Tripura govt conducts field study of Gomti River for vessel transport

AGARTALA, Tripura: The Government of Tripura will be conducting a field study to identify the location that would require dredging to operationalise 54 kilometre stretch of the Gomti River as part of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.

Mahitosh Das, Chief Engineer, State Water Resource Department, said that the study will be conducted between Maharani in the Gomti district to Sonamura in Sepahijala, to identify the locations where dredging needs to be done to allow the smooth movement of small transport vessels on the river. A total budget of Rs 15 crores has been sanctioned for this research. Earlier, Rail India Technical and Economic Services Private Limited (RITES), an agency of the Government of India, prepared a detailed project report (DPR) in 2013-14 for the operationalisation of the aforementioned transboundary route between India and Bangladesh.

The dredging is important because according to standards for waterways prescribed by the Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), a 1.80-meter depth of water level is a must for the transportation of small vessels.

Dredging will begin within the next three months, and it will be done under the sanctioned budget for the research. Up to 50 per cent of the total budget will be spent in the first phase of dredging and the remaining amount will be spent in a phased manner. Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterway released Rs 24 crores for dredging and construction of floating jetties from Maharani to Sonamura.