PremiumUnion Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday said that from waterways, to railways, to air transport, to highways, the country is progressing in every field and in the next 25 years India will be a self-reliant country as envisioned by the Prime Minister.
Union Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday said that from waterways, to railways, to air transport, to highways, the country is progressing in every field and in the next 25 years India will be a self-reliant country as envisioned by the Prime Minister.
Speaking at the inauguration of seven community jetties and foundation stone of 8 more jetties in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh he said the under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, work is being done for development from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh under the policy of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’.
Sonowal said India is implementing policies that would enable creation of world-class infrastructure. He said Prime Minister emphasis on developing national waterways has unleashed strong economic multipliers encompassing logistics, trade, city infrastructure, water supplies and tourism is an exemplification of this vision.
Sonowal said the Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Summit 2022 will pave the way forward for enhanced and coordinated efforts towards comprehensive development of waterways led transport & logistics sector in the country.
He added that active waterways, when used for regular logistics and passenger travel, necessarily creates landing and loading/unloading points on the banks of the rivers.
The Minister said this makes large areas of the hinterland accessible to the routes of trade and commerce, making goods from these areas part of the national and global supply chain network, opening up new markets for everyone—from farmers to craftspeople to factories.
Sonowal said that the focus on “port-led development" is central to this vision to create seamless multi-modal connectivity for movement of people and cargo, with focus on removing barriers to last mile connectivity, emblematic of the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar and Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ vision.