Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) launches a Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) service in Assam from Neamati to Majuli

On October 11, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) launched a Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) service in Assam from Neamati to Majuli island. This service will reduce the road route distance of 423 km that trucks take from Neamati to Majuli Island via Tezpur Road Bridge to only 12.7 km with the use of river route. The IWAI has procured a new vessel MV Bhupen Hazarika at a cost of Rs 9.46 crore for the new service. The vessel which is 46.50 meter long and 13.30 meter wide has a carrying capacity of 8 trucks and 100 passengers. The vessel can sail at the speed of 22 km per house. Majuli is one of the biggest riverine islands in the world located on river Brahmaputra and faces serious challenges of connectivity. It has 144 villages with a population of over 1,50,000. The RoRo service was launched in collaboration between IWAI and Assam government.