www.worldcommercereview.com A series ofmeasuresA series government takenby theIndian has enabled a seamless connectivity through inland waterenabled aseamless connectivity transport amongBBINcountries. BipulChatterjeetransport and Veena Vidyadharan consider theeffects onthe region Seamless connectivity Seamless www.worldcommercereview.com P (Jharkhand) and () as part ofJal Marg aspart Bengal) ProjectVikas andHaldia(West () The intermodal andmultimodalterminals beingdeveloped (),Sahibganj at keylocations ofKalughat Fostering connectivity sub-regional neighbours. are projected to play withitseastern avitalrole ofIndia inimproving connectivity theinlandwater transport and National Waterway-2 from Sadiya to intheBrahmaputra Dhubri waterways river that are thetwo important in2016. Act The National Waterway-1 from Bhagirathi-Hooghly to HaldiaintheGanga- river system develop inlandwaterways gotintensified for lately trade the declaration andtransport after ofNational Waterways Though the fruitfulnessofthereform measures willtaketimeto realise, itisto bementioned that thethrustto 2016. inthecaseofNepal(144)(100)andBhutan(149)compareddecline was observed to previous data of rank dropped from 35 development solutionsandinfrastructural ofrail, road andwaterways.e-mobility Despite theseinitiatives, ’s infrastructure inthecountry. This includessettingupoflogistics parks, multimodalterminals, Project Sagarmala ofmeasuresA series hasbeentakenby theGovernment inthepastfew ofIndia years to improve thelogistics butalsofor countriesjust India itsneighbouring ofBangladesh,BhutanandNepal. and allows easier modal shift, this is expected to be a major leap in redefining the transport narrativeand allows to thisisexpected beamajorleapinredefining easiermodalshift, thetransport for not recentlyBengal) inFebruary, 2019.As through container waterways cargo reduces transport logistics cost Maersk moved firm, 16 containers alongNational 1fromWaterway (West () to roviding amuch-required theworld’s inIndia, boostto sector theinlandwater transport largest shipping th to 44intherecently published World Bank’s Logistics Performance (2018).Similar Index 2 (inNational Waterway-1) are to expected 1 , www.worldcommercereview.com of ChittagongandMongla hasalsosigned ofUnderstandingwithBangladeshin2017to aMemorandum access Bangladesh ports (Kurigram, Bangladesh).However, agreement amongBangladesh,BhutanandNepalisrequired atripartite for as a ‘trade route’ inNepal-India Trade Treaty inarecent bilateral meeting benefit Nepalboundcargo from third countries.India andNepal haveIn this context, recognised inland waterways in isolation in of Bengal sub region, none of these has to be seen seen be to has these of none region, sub Bengal of connectivity between the countries and in the Bay Bay the in and countries the between connectivity Bangladesh governments to improve the physical physical the improve to governments Bangladesh With multiple initiatives taken by India and and India by taken initiatives multiple With 4 . Bhutancaneitheraccess inlandwaterway at Jogighopa (, orat Chilmari, India) 3 . www.worldcommercereview.com demands periodical dredgingdemands periodical intheserivers to keepthechannelnavigable throughout theyear. andBrahmaputrarivers ofGanga (corresponding to National Waterway-1 andNational Waterway-2, respectively) 2016-17 years, from fromasof year Bangladeshislimited India to thevalue less than15%ofthevalue ofimports ofexports Though the bilateral andBangladeshhasincreased trade between India by more than17percent inthepastfive bilateral to India-Bangladesh Impetus trade rice, jute, steel plate, stone chipsandover eastIndia. dimensionalcargo mostlyto north to Bangladesh) withflyash constituting 98percent (export movement ofthecargo andthe isone-sided rest being A study conducted byA studyconducted CUTS International fibres, clothingaccessories, plastics, mineral articles, fuelsandoil, textile leather and footwear. iron andsteel, stones, equipment; whileIndia’s andelectrical from Bangladeshare –fabrics, majorimports yarnand 2,698 thousandtonnes cargo movementThe inter-country andBangladeshthrough between India waterways for 2017-2018was in Protocol Silghat). Route 1(Kolkata- ofthesixoperational1972. Out routes, andNarayanganj, occurs between Kolkata mostofthetransport whichfalls Unlike Nepal, andBangladeshhave India anexisting Protocol ofInland Waterways Transit since and Trade (PIWTT) costs willlessensignificantly.transportation countries. Access viawaterways would open newavenues to ports ChittagongandMongla for Bhutanasthe to Bangladesh viathelandroutes inIndia. Till for now, trade withthird port hasbeenusingKolkata thecountry Bhutan to access andBangladeshiwaterways. Indian Currently, boulders, gypsumandoranges Bhutanexports 6 . Major products which are exported fromto whichare Bangladeshare products India . Major exported –cotton, vehicles, machinery, cereals, 5 andhasnotvariedconsiderably inthelastthree years. isinteresting It to note that this 7 haspointed outthat thehighsedimentation by Himalayan loadcarried www.worldcommercereview.com providing dredging livelihood operations to local people. in this andBangladeshare India jointly undertaking the 12boats engagedhere are from Bangladesh,loadingandunloadingare donemanuallyinrespective countries Interestingly, here alsothemovement of goodsisfrom to Bangladeshto India meetthelocaldemand. While all 300m across theriver. Bangladesh) wherein customs row after clearance perishables to boats are Bangladeshsailinghardly usedto carry This genre ofcross border (Sylhet, trade iscurrently (Assam, andZakiganj operational India) between Karimganj of ayear thereby contributing to locallivelihoods, bilateral trade andtrustbuilding. navigational parameters for themovement distance ofsmallboats to across plyfor border allmonths short during local demand. While thisstretch would require dredging for themovement ofbigsteel hullvessels, ithasenough Similarly, from Bangladeshcotton waste, to meetthe potatoes primarily to andcement India, canbeexported capacity, perishables, cereals, carrying stones andcoal from throughout India theyear. andBangladeshrespectively) iscongenialin India for themovement smallmechanised boats of20-50tonnes (Assam,waterway between (Kurigram, Dhubri, andChilmari Bangladesh)(whichare India) thelastcustom stations stretch ofwaterwaysBangladesh inshorter across theinternational border alongtheProtocol Route. The stretch of total inland water transport. hasmassiveThe plansto country dredge itsmajorrivers to improve navigability of waterways inBangladeshwhere ClassIIIandIVwaterways (lessthan1.82mdepth)constitute about70%of tonnes,2000 metric therequired leanseason. during depthisnotpresent particularly This istrueeven inthecase isessential for themovement capacity While achannelof45metre widthand3-metre-deep ofvessels ofcarrying In thiscontext, CUTSIn anexplorative hasconducted study 9 on the possibilities of short haul trade between India and haultrade between India onthepossibilitiesofshort 8 . www.worldcommercereview.com and delays. ofthecargo Most are containerised away andare whichishardly destinedfor 260km andthe Dhaka about92%ofthetotal cargo seaborne whichcarries inBangladeshfaces traffic heavy congestion Chittagong port openingnewavenues forChittagong port trade andconnectivity. and Bangladesh. With coming anewbridge across the river, Tripura eaststates willhave andothernorth access to awayis about75km from Chittagong; however, Feni river flows through theinternational borderIndia separating in whichislandlockedfrom Sabroom district EastIndia mainlandIndia. forTripura North borders Bangladeshand toAlong mention thisline, inBangladeshwould that access begamechanger itisimportant to Chittagong port east. farther agreement andBangladeshshouldbeconsidered ofIndia asanallyto inlandnavigation to andcanbeextended the countries andintheBay subregion, ofBengal noneofthesehasto beseeninisolation. The coastal shipping With multipleinitiatives andBangladesh governments takenby India to improve thephysical between connectivity Towards seamlessconnectivity instead hasto beintegratedtransport withmultimodalconnectivity. cheaper freight charges ofrailway, itcannotbeseenasanalternate modeorsubstitute for othermodesof waterways to makeiteconomically viable. While itischallenging for waterways to compete withtherelatively viable andsustainable. Hence itisimperative to explore cargo from that canbeshifted to road/rail transport and otherinfrastructure. The current modeoftrade relying (flyash)isnoteconomically onasinglecommodity Thus hugeinvestment isaprerequisite for augmentation capacity ofthewaterways aswell asbuildingterminals continue asitcaters to thelocaldemand. oftheProtocolpart route (Route No3&4)for facilitating movement ofbiggersteel vessels, yet thelocaltrade will www.worldcommercereview.com services through inland waterways, asfrom there to itcanbeconnected Vizag, Colombo andSingapore through feeder is keento transhipResearch ready-made viaHaldia(India) indicates that garments industry theDhaka-based Pangaon, there despite isnootherinlandcontainer having agoodriver terminal nearDhaka network. time takento cover from thedistance eight may to twenty-four vary hoursdependingonthetraffic. Except for Understanding onPassenger alongCoastal andProtocol andCruise Services Routes in2017. domestic aswell asforeign tourists inthelast decade. andBangladeshhave India signed of aMemorandum from trade viawaterways,Apart river tourism isanotherarea whichhasbeengainingwideattention from both recently.Policy very Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy isinplace for hascomeNational Logistics upwithadraft Bangladesh, India fronts alongwithriver andpolicy trainingbe doneintheinfrastructural work to easenavigation. While an orderIn to system makeinlandwater attractive to transport private andlogistics firms, sector alotmore needs to Moreover, IslandandKolkata. Sagar thesewaterways are shallower, andnarrower. meandering Comparatively, theNational Waterways (NW-1, ofIndia 2and16)donotgetany benefitoftide except between The navigable rivers ofBangladeshare wider, deeperandinmostcasesare having advantage oftidalbenefit. with radar andnight navigation lights putalongthe navigable channelsat strategic points, lagsfarbehind. India in inlandnavigation. Though Bangladesh ismuchadvanced andhasitsvessels in inlandwater equipped transport Considering inlogistics management, timeasacrucialfactor day andnight navigation facilitieshave to beassured is increased, by around $160itsaves asignificant amounttwo oftime by about to three days. 10 . The research cost ofsendingacontainer viaHaldia alsoconcludes that from thoughthetransport Dhaka www.worldcommercereview.com transport amongBBINcountries: transport conclusion, thefollowingIn recommendations brief would through ensure inlandwater seamlessconnectivity Thus, thechallengesthat are faced currently are: by sector inlandwater transport facilities needto becreated for aswell. thissector etc.communities, into Looking river thebenefitsof artisans infrastructural cruiseand water necessary tourism, The tourist vessels cansaileven inshallow waters, generate revenue for andprovide local jobopportunities • • • • • • Need for upgradation ofriver systems oncore large routes vessel modern fleets that cansupport terminals inNational Waterway-2 channels,Shifting multiplechannelsandexcessive bankerosion posethreat ofpermanent to construction waterways Altering interests andpoliticalinfluence oftrucklobby leading to underdevelopment andusageof Undue advantage anduncompetitive freight charges by few private operators coming upinUpperAssam andArunachal Pradesh) The projected trade potential inNational Waterway-2 projects basedcargo ismostlyproject (hydro-electric low vessels) draft anditspoormaintenanceLimited number ofvessels (particularly www.worldcommercereview.com 1. The Sagarmala programme is the flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping (India) to promote port-led programme1. The Sagarmala ofShipping (India) to promote istheflagshipprogrammeport-led Ministry ofthe Endnotes Bipul Chatterjee istheExecutive Director, and Veena Vidyadharan isaFellow, at CUTS International • • • • • • • more to transparency the operators, usersandcommon public■ facilitiesforBuild infrastructural lastmileconnectivity, system safe bringing navigation in ande-monitoring Comprehensive disaster management planandpollutioncontrol measures Removal or relaxation barriers bansandothernon-tariff ofproduct for GPStracking vessels to ensureMandatory safety andsecurity border anddesign vessels accordingly Identify stretches andcommodities stretches (ondemand-base) withtrade potential across between shorter of developmental andtakeappropriate interventions steps to promote IWT consultationsRegular andfeedback andoperators mechanismswithindustries for identifying success/failure of Brahmaputra Continuous monitoring, data collection, studyandriver training works to regulate andstabilisethechannels www.worldcommercereview.com 10. Transforming trade efficienciesofBangladesh,2018;More details:http://snip.ly/0csq0y (Kurigram, Bangladesh)through waterways, 2018;More details:http://snip.ly/3iugc4 Towards9. Boating Facilitating haulcross-border Inclusivity: trade (Assam, Dhubri India)andChilmari short between http://snip.ly/lazp7o 8. Improving in100majorrivers: Ecnec navigability approves Tk4,489cr project to procure 35dredgers, 2018;More details: 7. Expandingtradable ofinland benefits waterways: Case ofIndia,2017;More details:http://snip.ly/777qp3 6. India-Bangladeshrelations; More details:http://snip.ly/qgts7y 5. Traffic duringFY2010-2011 Statistics to2017-2018;More details:http://snip.ly/v74wm4 4. More details: http://snip.ly/gjfdq6 snip.ly/omxjpu Statement3. India-NepalJoint duringtheState Visit ofPrime ofIndia to Minister Nepal, May2018;More details:http:// covering ofthe adistance withtechnical of1380km More details:http://snip.ly/bzbxol andfinancialsupport World Bank. 2. The JalMarg Vikas Project entailsdevelopment offairway Varanasi with 3meters depth between andHaldia(Phase-I) domestic trade withminimalinfrastructure investment. More details:http://snip.ly/cbhnoe waterways andstrategic location onkey international maritimetrade routes. aimsto reduce It cost logistics forEXIMand throughdevelopment harnessingIndia’s inthecountry longcoastline, 7,500km ofpotentially navigable 14,500km