Navigating a New Dawn

From forgotten river routes to futuristic water highways, the Modi government's inland waterways push is turning the Northeast into India’s new growth frontier

- SARBANANDA SONOWAL

Where the Brahmaputra once carried legends, it now carries trade, trust, and the renewed promise of a Viksit Bharat flowing as the lifeline of India's transformative Northeast

For decades, the Northeast has stood at the crossroads of geography and imagination — a region blessed with nature’s bounty, yet limited by sparse connectivity. Rugged terrain, dense forests, and fragile roads have long shaped its destiny.

But, as India moves into a new era of development, the story of the Northeast, as the growth engine of Bharat, is now being told not just through its highways or railways, but by its oldest companion — its rivers.

Since 2014, the transformative leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has led to the rediscovery of rivers as multipliers of progress and arteries of opportunity, especially in the Northeast. From the mighty Brahmaputra to the Barak and their tributaries, the region's waterways are being developed as a new model of sustainable, multimodal connectivity.

For centuries, our rivers served as natural highways linking hill and valley economies with the world. The Ahoms deftly used riverine routes for trade, troop movements, and diplomacy — long before rail tracks or tarmac roads crisscrossed Assam’ plains. So did the British, to further their colonial trade interest. What is new today is the scale and intent of revival!

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), has not merely built terminals and dredged channels; it has reimagined Inland Water Transport (IWT) as a catalyst for regional integration, economic growth, and environmental balance.