Odisha: National Waterways 5 to connect Talcher with Paradip and Dhamra Ports

The Odisha government is working with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in this regard. Commerce and Transport Department Secretary Usha Padhee on Friday 18 Oct informed that Inland Waterways are efficient means of transportation as there is less pollution and transportation can be done in a sustainable way.

The master plan is being prepared by IIT Madras and IWAI and the Odisha government will subsequently finalise it. Sources said the National Waterway 5 (NW-5) is one of six national waterways in India, and it covers the state of Odisha and a part of West Bengal. It runs a total length of 623 km, of which 91 km is within West Bengal and the remaining 532 km is in Odisha. As per the plan, the connectivity will be made from Talcher to Dharma via Mangaljodi in the first phase. Later, there is a target to connect from Dhamra to Haldia.

Odisha boasts a coastline of 480 km and an action plan is being made for maritime-oriented and port-based inland waterways as part of a vision document to boost growth in the state, said Padhee.

It is pertinent to mention here that coastal and inland waterways are important not only for Odisha but for the country as well. Odisha is going to be a steel hub and it is likely to produce 100 million tonnes by 2030 as there are adequate raw materials. Hence, there is a need to transport raw materials to plants. The easy path is inland or coastal waterways. In several countries, there are dedicated freight corridors.

In Odisha, there is a huge potential as there is 480 km of sea coast and there are three major ports which are handling cargo. To connect these ports, we have potential and there is a feasibility to connect Talcher and other parts.