The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has inked a deal with DST, Germany to design vessels, especially suited to navigate the 1,620 km stretch of NW-1.
A senior IWAI official said this was a milestone in the journey of NW-1. ´The objective is flow with nature and disturb the river minimally. Despite navigating on low drafts these vessels have high carrying capacity,´ he said.
DST Germany is expected to develop a combination of standardised vessels to meet the requirement of various types of cargo.
One of the most important navigational challenges is the kind of vessels that can ply on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch. Keeping in view the difficult hydro-morphological characteristics in the upper reaches between Patna and Varanasi, it is important to have vessels which can ply on low draft.
DST, Germany, has been initially tasked to develop low-draft vessels that can carry up to 150-200 vehicles.
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