Assam is procuring four new state-of-the-art ’Ro-Pax’ vessels built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
This was stated by state transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Monday.
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In view of the Ro-Ro vessel service in Assam, Patowary in a statement said, “We are deeply concerned with the plights of the inhabitants of Majuli and people of other parts of Assam for the non-functioning of Ro-Ro vessels operated by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Government of India”.
The minister stated, “The State Transport Department is in constant touch with the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India and on the State’s request, Inland Waterways Authority of India, Ministry of Shipping will deliver Assam four new state-of-the-art ‘Ro-Pax’ vessels.
“The vessels will be operated in the National Waterways No 2 stretching from Dhubri – Sadiya.
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The vessels are already en-route from Kolkata to Guwahati via Bangladesh and have reached Hemnagar in West Bengal on Monday, added Patowary.
The new Ro-Pax vessels have a capacity of 200 passengers and along with these, can carry two trucks and four cars.
These vessels have low draft, good maneuverability in comparison to the earlier Ro-Ro vessels which had less maneuverability due to bigger size and high draft for which it faced difficulty in plying over River Brahmaputra.
These Ro-Pax vessels will replace the earlier Ro-Ro vessels.
Out of these four new Ro-Pax vessels, two vessels would be placed in Majuli, one in Guwahati and another one in Dhubri.