Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's first inland port, in Varanasi, on the Ganga River as part of the Centre's push to develop inland waterways. The project which was unveiled as the PM, along with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, received the country's first container vessel that sailed from Kolkata on the inland waterway on October 30, carrying cargo belonging to food and beverage giant PepsiCo India. This is the first of four multi-modal terminals being constructed on the River Ganga dubbed the National Waterway-1 as part of the World Bank-aided Jal Marg Vikas project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India.
At the launch, Modi said, “This is a historic day for Varanasi and India. For the first time since Independence, we are using our extensive river network for commerce at this scale. It should have happened decades ago but we have finally made it happen now.” The vessel received by Modi carried 16 truckloads of food and beverage consignments in containers. “The movement of this container vessel means the eastern Uttar Pradesh, Poorvanchal and country's eastern part have been linked to the Bay of Bengal,” Modi said.
The Modi government is developing the entire 1,620 km between Allahabad and Haldia as National Waterway-1, which can be used for transport of goods and passengers throughout the year. Modi took digs at the previous government for neglecting the development of waterways in the country. He said, “There was a time when big vessels used to ply on our rivers. But after independence we neglected these routes rather than develop them...The waterway will not only be used for transporting cargo but this will also promote tourism and will also connect the religious places in east India to the east Asian countries. Varanasi and other areas in the eastern region will also be popular for cruise tourism.”
He also said that products including handloom and textile products from Varanasi and nearby regions can be transported to other parts through the waterway. Historian Prof Rana P B Singh said, “As per English scholar James Prinsep, goods transportation through waterway up from Kolkata to Varanasi and other eastern destinations had remained till 1832. Wood, sandalwood, silk, spices and salt were mainly brought to Varanasi market by traders through the waterway.”
