Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam flagged off five new ferries on the occasion of Biswakarma Puja. The inauguration of these ferries were done form the Lachit Ghat in Guwahati. These five new ferries will work for the Inland Water Transport ( IWT ) department of Assam.
Out of the five new motorized boats, three are for general passenger transport and two with search and rescue capabilities. These new ferries were procured by the state to ensure the safety of the passengers who need to cross the Brahmaputra river on a regular basis.
The three passenger boats are named MV Sonai, MV Lohit and MV Pratima. One each to provide transportation services in Dhubri, Guwahati and Majuli respectively. The rescue boats named SDB Vikrant and SDB Vishal will be pressed to service in Guwahati and Majuli of Assam.
The one in Guwahati shall operate on the Kuruwa – Guwahati route while the Majuli one will operate between Nimati Ghat and Kamalabari.
Following the ferry accident near Nimati Ghat of Jorhat few days back, all single engine ferries were completely banned from operation. It lead to severe problems for the daily commuters on the route. These new boats are aimed to provide relief to these people.
