UKHRUL: India has taken a major step toward strengthening inland waterway navigation with the foundation laying of four riverine lighthouses along the Brahmaputra River. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stones at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati, marking the first time lighthouse infrastructure will be established on an inland waterway in the country.
The lighthouses will be constructed at Pandu in Kamrup (Metro) district, Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district, Silghat in Nagaon district, and Biswanath Ghat in Biswanath district along the Brahmaputra, also designated as National Waterway-2 (NW-2). Pandu, Bogibeel and Silghat are located on the south bank of the river, while Biswanath Ghat will be the only lighthouse situated on the north bank.
The project, with a total investment of about ₹84 crore, will be implemented by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) in collaboration with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Each lighthouse will stand 20 metres tall with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8 to 10 nautical miles. The structures will be powered entirely by solar energy.
Apart from serving navigational purposes, the lighthouse sites are also planned as tourist attractions. Facilities such as a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children’s play area, souvenir shop and landscaped spaces will be developed at each location, aiming to combine navigation infrastructure with tourism potential.
The initiative comes amid a 53 percent increase in cargo movement on the Brahmaputra waterway during the 2024–25 financial year, according to IWAI. The river corridor plays an important role in transporting commodities such as tea, coal and fertilisers, while also supporting passenger and tourism traffic. The new lighthouses are expected to enable round-the-clock safe navigation and will also include weather observation sensors and modern navigational aids.
Speaking at the event, Sonowal said inland waterways are emerging as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable transport alternative. He noted that transporting cargo by water is significantly cheaper than road transport and generates far lower carbon emissions.
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The foundation stone ceremony was attended by Assam Tourism Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Transport Minister Charan Boro, Public Health Engineering Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah, Guwahati MP Bijuli Kalita Medhi, and East Guwahati MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and DGLL.
The project was initiated after exploring the feasibility of riverine lighthouses in the Northeast. A memorandum of understanding between IWAI and DGLL was signed on April 8, 2025, and the sites were transferred in June the same year. Each lighthouse is expected to be completed within 24 months after the contract is awarded.
National Waterway-2 stretches 891 kilometres from Dhubri in West Bengal to Sadiya in upper Assam and is the longest navigable stretch of any Indian waterway. The upcoming river lighthouses are expected to improve navigational safety and support the continued growth of cargo and passenger movement along the Brahmaputra.