India's waterways rediscovered: Charting a new course for Viksit Bharat

Once, India’s rivers were not just sacred but sensible modes of transportation — when goods floated from Patna or Dibrugarh to Kolkata long before trucks ruled the tarmac roads.

- SARBANANDA SONOWAL

Once, India's rivers were not just sacred but sensible modes of transportation when goods floated from Patna or Dibrugarh to Kolkata long before trucks ruled the tarmac roads. The rivers of India were the first highways, their currents moving grain, salt, and stories. In time, as steel rails and asphalt roads replaced them, the rivers turned into mere promises.

Today, thanks to the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), India's rivers are being rediscovered, reimagined, and rejuvenated this time, with institutional funding made possible by an outcome-driven and well-intentioned government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India has over 14,500 km of navigable waterways, and 111 are declared national waterways, as against mere five until 2014. Thirty-two are now operational.

This shift, with the tenfold move, isn't just about new maps - it's about resurrecting a logistics philosophy shaped by the PM's transformative approach to multimodal connectivity. The obvious benefits are less fuel, lower emissions, and economical transport of goods. All we have to do is respect the river dredge it sensibly, guide it safely, and let physics do the heavy lifting.

The numbers give a promising picture. Cargo movement has risen from 18 million tonnes (MT) in 2013-14 to 145 MT in 2024-25. The government's ambitions are bold: 200 million tonnes by 2030, and a quarter-billion more by 2047-all part of the Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat, where growth and green development flow together.