February 4, 2025
Sushmita Dev’s Zero Hour mention demanding dredging of Barak River in Assam to enable the movement of goods and thus enable livelihoods for the people of the region
Thank you, Sir, for the opportunity. Sir, I come from a State which is well known for its mighty rivers. The State of Assam takes pride in the fact that we have the Brahmaputra and the Barak Rivers, whereas we often see that these rivers are associated with floods in Assam. What we fail to appreciate is that riverways is actually one of the cheapest modes for movement of goods. If we look at history of Assam, we share a huge border with Bangladesh, Myanmar etc. Our rivers are an asset through which we should be facilitating movement of goods. I feel lucky that Sarbananda Sonowalji is present in Parliament today. And, in the 16th Lok Sabha, when I represented the Constituency of Silchar, the Barak River was declared a National Waterway. And, we were all very hopeful and aspirational that once this waterway is properly made operational with proper infrastructure, a very remote and backward area like Barak Valley will be able to enhance its economy due to movements of goods in the Barak River. Unfortunately, Sir, infrastructure till today remains incomplete. The dredging of River Barak has been abandoned due to which the people of Barak Valley are almost isolated in the State of Assam. Trains become dysfunctional due to floods and landslides because we are surrounded by Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. Airways are beyond the affordability of common man and small traders. In these circumstances, Sir, I urge upon the Government of India to please facilitate the dredging of Barak River. Please facilitate the movement of goods through our riverways. We need ports to be made. We need proper customs infrastructure to be there so that the otherwise isolated area of Assam can grow faster, meet the aspirations of youth, boost our economy, connect us better for international trade and we can come out from the backwardness that we have been facing for decades. I thank the Government of India for starting the Brahmaputra Board which manages the Brahmaputra River. But, till today for the Barak river of Assam, we do not have a board that manages river properly. So, these are my demands in the greater interest of the people of Assam. Thank you, Sir.
