Kolkata: The state government on Thursday assured the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) that availability of land will not be a problem for construction of the jetty stations in Bengal under the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP). Top officials of IWAI held a meeting with chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee, other concerned state government officials and chairman of Kolkata Port Trust and made a presentation regarding progress of work under the JMVP project.
“The GR Jetty of Garden Reach is one of the most important jetties that is being developed. All the necessary permissions are in hand and tender will be floated soon. We have also asked for the state to provide a list of the jetties that they are planning to develop and if it comes in the routemap of our project plan then we can also develop it,” IWAI vice-chairman Pravir Pandey said.
IWAI chairman Nutan Guha Biswas, Mr Pandey and other senior officials flagged off two state-of-the-art survey-cum-inspection vessels SL Ganga and SL Jhanvi. The IWAI has already earmarked around 5 critical points where deposition of silt is acting as a barrier in the smooth movement of vessels.
“From Tribeni to Farakka there are places where water level is extremely low, particularly from March to May. We will be soon floating tender for sustained dredging wherever it is required,” Mr Pandey said.
The National Waterway-1 (NW-1) is being developed under the JMVP with technical and investment support from the World Bank over a period of six years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore. The half of the project cost is being borne by the Centre while World Bank would provide rest of the amount as a loan.
