Patna: Even as Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday inaugurated the pilot movement of the cargo vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri through the Inland Waterway-1 Ganges (IW-1 Ganga) setting the tone for the regular navigation of these vessels in the future, Bihar Department of Water Resources Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha on Tuesday demanded speed limit regulations for cargo ships and the changing the route itself from near Ismailpur-Bindtoli (IB) in northern Bhagalpur to ‘the old riverside’ in the district.
Jha said he would soon seek the intervention of Union Minister Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, to find a solution to the new set of emerging issues.
“The movement of cargo ships through IW-1 Ganga will aggravate the problem of bank erosion of the Ganges and the related threat to the flood protection (IB) embankment and spurs constructed in the Gopalpur block north of Bhagalpur,” the minister added.
Sonowal had laid the groundwork for a cargo terminal at Kalughat along IW-1 Ganga near Sonepur in Saran district on the north bank of the river on Saturday, in addition to reporting MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying 200 tonnes of food grains from Gaighat cargo terminal located on the south bank of the river in Patna.
The MV Lal Bahadur Shastri had transported food grains to Pandu (Guwahati) in Assam located on IW-2 Brahmaputra, passing through Bhagalpur, Sahebganj (Jharkhand), Kolkata and Bangladesh. The length of IW-1 Ganga between Allahabad and Haldia is 1,620 km.
“Now the movement of cargo ships would cause a new set of problems, such as increased erosion of the bank of the Ganges and threat to the flood protection embankment of the IB by the formation of strong waves and turbulence in the river in the area of ​​the IB embankment by the movement of cargo ships,” added Jha.
While IW-1 Ganga is expected to become operational in the near future, Jha in a letter to the Shekhawat drew its attention to the set of additional problems that may be caused around the Ismailpur-Bindtoli areas.
Jha said he had drawn the attention of the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and the Inland Waterways Authority of India in 2019 on the newly emerging issues in the Ganges. around Ismailpur-Bindtoli, but no concrete action has been taken.
He said the river dredging was done to dig and determine the route of freight vehicles. The Bhagalpur district administration had to stop the movement of the cargo ship last year as it caused waves up to 1.5 meters high and consequent disturbances in the water of the river.