STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: After the decision to lease out the operation of 100 electric buses under the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC), the Assam Government has now decided to lease out the operation of ferry services under IWT on 20 water routes in middle Assam, Guwahati and lower Assam.
The Inland Water Transport (IWT) Division (Guwahati) of the Directorate of Inland Water Transport has already started the leasing out process. Earlier, the Inland Water Transport Division (Guwahati) had tried leasing out the operation of ferry services on the 20 routes of the Brahmaputra to third parties. But this was not possible on some routes. This time the Inland Water Transport Division (Guwahati) has made a fresh move. The operation of the ferry services on the 20 routes will be leased out to private parties on the basis of H1 (the highest bidder). The Directorate of Inland Water Transport will, however, monitor the operations of the ferry services. The Directorate will also be responsible for the maintenance of the river ghats.
The 20 water routes are – Barchala-Mairabari; Guwahati-Kurua; Guwahati-Madhyamkhanda; Guwahati-North Guwahati; Guwahati-Rajaduar; Guwahati-Kachamari; Pandu-Amingaon; Kurihamari-Guwahati via Sualkuchi; Sontoli Bohori-Alikash; Burikhamar; Pub-Khodanbari (Nichuka); Lowkhowa-Tezpur; Baralimari-Guwahati via Goriagaon, Haiborgaon; Sunsali-Kurua, Guwahati; Palashbari-Sualkuchi; Baghbor-Goalpara via Mainbari, Tarakandi (Club); Nayeralga-Gauranga; Dhubri-Medartari; Phulbari-Dhubri; and Manikpur-Pamerchar.
The Directorate of Inland Water Transport is running at a loss. It earns revenue amounting to around Rs 6 crore annually. However, the State exchequer has to pay Rs 13.43 crore monthly in the form of salaries to employees. The sector runs only by spending huge amounts from the State exchequer. According to official sources, IWT has 3,214 employees to maintain 89 ferry ghats in four divisions: Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar, and the IWT Directorate in the State. Of the 267 IWT vessels, only 178 are operational. As many as 89 vessels are lying idle.
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