871 km of the Brahmaputra in Assam will be dredged

A total of 871 km of the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam will be dredged with the Centre bearing its expenditure, said a senior official of the Inland Water Transport department.
Survey of 300 km of the Brahmaputra has been completed so far by the state PWD department for dredging of the river, said Inland Water Transport director, B B Dev Choudhury while participating in an All India Radio News talk show last night.
Choudhury said help of experts will be taken for the dredging.
The Inland Water Transport director said the dredging will bring opportunities to Assam as the state will get access to Chittagong port in Bangladesh benefiting 54 lakh people in the state involved in the water transport system, besides tourism getting a boost through improved water transport system.

He said water taxi service will be introduced in Guwahati this year and the World Bank has sanctioned Rs 1000 crore for the development of Inland water transport in Assam.
An expressway will be constructed along the river after dredging, Choudhury added.