Shortly after the Union government injected Rs.2,000 crore for development of water transport, works on at least 10 of the 111 National Waterways have been fast-tracked and they are going to become operational next year, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, adding that the government recently approved allocation of 2.5 percent of the Central Road Fund (CRF) for national waterways. With the approved funds, the department can easily get works done having investments of Rs.12,000 crore. Massive work worth Rs.5,000 crore is already underway on Ganga (1,620 km) which is the National Waterway No. with World Bank assistance. The work includes development of three multi-modal hubs at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Haldia in West Bengal, and Sahebganj in Bihar. The Inland Waterways Authority of India is also facilitating cruise operations on NW-1 from Kolkata to Varanasi in collaboration with private cruise operators. These apart, the development of NW-2 which is Brahmaputra (890 km stretch) is also on top on the government agenda. After Ganga and Brahmaputra, work will begin on Mandavi and Zuari in next three months, he added.
