A day after the boat accident in Majuli district of Assam, the state government has banned operation of private ferries in the state.
This big announcement was made by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during his visit to the boat accident spot.
“From today, plying of private ferries will be stopped as they don’t have marine engine,” Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
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However, CM Sarma gave an option to the private ferry owners to convert the engines of their boats to a marine engine.
“If owners wish to convert single engine to marine engine, Goa will provide grant of Rs 10 lakh with 75% subsidy,” CM Sarma said.
Also read: Assam: After foundation stone being laid twice, construction of Majuli bridge to ‘start’ in November
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He added: “SoP will be issued to schedule health check-ups of those working on boats.”
He further informed that from now onwards, four IWT ferries would provide service between Kamalabari and Nimatighat and soon two more ferries would be sent to Majuli.
The Assam chief minister also informed that dredging of River Brahmaputra will be done between Kamalabari in Majuli and Nimatighat in Jorhat to ‘create’ a navigational channel.
“To ensure uninterrupted service of Ro-Pax throughout the year, dredging between Kamalabari & Nimati Ghat will be carried out to create a navigation channel,” said CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.