Assam to tie up with Ola for river taxi service

GUWAHATI: The water transport system in Assam is about to get a major boost with several projects in the pipeline including the introduction of river taxis for transportation and tourism. Assam transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Sunday said his government is likely to sign a MoU with cab service provider Ola to run a river taxi service in the state.

"Our government is working to make the means of transportation swifter in all the ways. Several initiatives have been taken up in this regard. I am pleased to announce that we are going to introduce more river transportation systems in Assam," Patowary said at a press conference on Sunday.

"We are going have a deal with Ola in the next few months. They will conduct experiments to ascertain the water behaviour of Brahmaputra before beginning the sevice. There will also be a night navigation system in place. But once it begins, this will be a great help for the people travelling to airport or Palashbari as it will be much faster than the time taken by road," the minister added.

The machine-operated boats which will operate as a part of the service are faster than normal boats, with better safety measures for passengers. These high-speed river taxis can cross the river Brahmaputra in just two minutes from Fancy Bazar ghat to north Guwahati.

The minister added that 30% government subsidy - and an additional 5% for women participants - with a maximum limit of Rs 3 lakh, will be provided to people who build boats and set up their local businesses to help the water transportation system.

Patowary on Sunday also inaugurated the Machkhuwa ghat - which has been re-named as Lachit ghat - near the statue of Lachit Borphukan, the 17th century Ahom general. "We will introduce six small river cruises which will take people to Umananda temple, North Guwahati and also on evening cruises," Patowary added.