AsCon Briefs
Abstract
Northeast India is an emergent strategic node sitting at the intersection of multimodal development projects on the one hand, and evolving geo-economic interests on the other. The benefits of inland waterways transport have caught the political vision and imagination of countries in the BBIN Subregion. Several policy initiatives are being undertaken by the Indian government such as building Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLP), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP), building of Ports of Call, river canal projects, amongst others, all of which are likely to benefit its Eastern neighbours. In this issue brief, we highlight the need for interdisciplinary engagements and conversations. Privileging the ecological cartography of South Asia and highlighting the interactive components that exist between the Tibetan plateau and the Bay of Bengal, we draw attention to an emerging assemblage of actors, where states, multilateral development banks and civil society can play an important role through a multilayered, multi-level governance framework.
Introduction
Strategic interactions around transboundary rivers are witnessing an interesting churn of geopolitical and geoeconomic logic in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region. On the one hand, there is an explicit concern on the network of infrastructure being built in the lower reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo in the Tibet Autonomous Region and on the other hand, Northeast India has come to the centre-stage with regards to the mega projects which are being initiated by India. A prominent discourse which has made policy inroads is the emergent issue of inland water transport, which have become an important building block for improving multi-modal connectivity in South Asia. Regional trade in South Asia is sub-optimal sitting around five percent for the past many decades. A World Bank report notes that “the average costs of trade within South Asia are 20 percent higher relative to country pairs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and over three times higher than the corresponding costs among the countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement.”i The reasons for this are complex geo-political tensions, bureaucratic roadblocks, colonial legacy of difficult borders, high costs involved with multi-modal transport shifts and lack of a regional framework for guiding a holistic and relational development which balances the ecological, economic and social costs.
This brief discusses patterns and developments associated with inland navigation in Eastern South Asia with regards to the BBIN countries––Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Given the unique ecological cartography of South Asia, transboundary river basin dynamics are unique and understanding the interlocking, interdependent and interconnected components of a river basin become important for policy decisions and academic inquiry. The river basin is the land connected through the main river and its various tributaries. In this regard the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Meghna river basin is the land constituted by BBIN countries, where these rivers and their multiple tributaries meet to flow down finally into the Bay of Bengal. However, the source of Ganges and Brahmaputra lies in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China, which makes the geo-political elements embedded in Integrated River Basin Management a daunting and challenging task. The challenge of how water moves and behaves in a larger area needs to address political questions of legal mechanisms and regional cooperation, ecological and social questions of scalar connections and constructions, and economic questions of co-benefits and trade-offs.
Ideally, for understanding the basin dynamics one needs to take a broader view of the interactive components of a river basin in the upstream, midstream and downstream stretches of the river. This not only requires cooperation between up-stream, midstream and downstream countries but also necessitates that one understands the connections between different scales where problems can be identified, and interventions designed. This cross-scalar analysis of a river basin requires that local, meso- and macro-level dynamics and issues are engaged with. However, such a holistic, relational and systems-based approach requires cooperation, coordination and collaboration between sectors and actors not only at multiple levels but also at multiple scales. In this regard, issues and interventions in the upper riparian Tibet need to be assessed in terms of the ecological degradation it is having on the midstream and downstream stretches. At present, a holistic, ecosystem impact on river basins is missing. A similar approach needs to be taken in other countries like Bhutan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. This approach not only makes every river basin contextual and unique but also requires active collaboration in terms of scale matching and scale bridging.
For this purpose, developments around inland water transport from the standpoint of a network of rivers that flow through Northeast India are discussed. This perspectival approach will be helpful for two reasons. First, transboundary rivers connect all the BBIN countries through the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Basin in an interdependent manner thus having interlocking social, ecological and economic ramifications. It will be useful to understand the social, cultural and ecological issues that have been articulated in this context. Second, all these countries have existing bilateral water treaties which either need upgradation or effective implementation on ground. Approaching issues from the lens of inland water transport might help to revisit and reassess these frameworks around specific transboundary rivers. The issue brief thus proceeds in three sections. The first section offers an overview of developments and discourses around inland water transport in Northeast India. The second section discusses the existing water treaties from the perspective of inland water navigation and the third concluding section offers a more holistic social, ecological and cultural ramifications of developments around inland water transport.
The Context: Path dependencies and Ruptures
Northeast India has many large and small rivers that play a crucial role for the region’s ecology, economy and cultural vitality. While there are references to rivers being used for navigation in the precolonial period, it was the East India Company that brought with them steamboats, which established the roots of river transport system. One major route was through the Ganges from Kolkata to Allahabad through which movement of goods, troops, and services used to take place.ii This waterway service was extended to Brahmaputra and Barak valley with the growth of the tea industry in the region.iii The British undertook river canal projects for navigation and irrigation purposes which were extensively used under the British Raj to establish connection with the mainland.iv Brahmaputra and Barak were thus commonly used as a medium of transportation for carrying goods and services across the Northeast and beyond. Routes were established between Kolkata and Dibrugarh through the Brahmaputra River, Silchar was linked to Kolkata via the Barak Surma-Meghna corridor.v This important node in the overall riverine network was matched through a hybrid mix of small and big boats. For instance, in Arunachal Pradesh, small country boats navigated the Lohit, Burhi Dihing, Subansiri, Nao Dihing, and Tirap rivers. In Mizoram, the Dhaleswari, Sonai, Chimtuipui, and Tuillianpui rivers served the same purpose. In Manipur, the Manipur River and its three tributaries, the Thoubal, the Iril and Imphal, were used to transport small quantities of merchandise to other areas through river channels established by the East India Company.vi Along with these, small ports (ferry ghats) were set up along these river channels. For example, Barak had small ports at Karimganj, Badarpur, and Silchar which were used for transporting passengers and cargo.vii The Ministry of Development in North Eastern Region notes that “in 1877 as many as 180,000 country boats were registered in Kolkata, 124,000 at Hooghly and 62,000 at Patna.”viii Further, 98 percentix of trade was carried by waterways, considering the advantages waterways provides such as connectivity during heavy monsoons and flood situation in the regionx. However, this riverine trade disrupted with the introduction of railways. While initially the construction of railway lines increased the river traffic, as the two modes supplemented each other with water ways providing feeder services to railways, by 1860s, this synergy was interrupted as new economic centres away from the existing waterways came up.xi This decline continued with the partition of India in 1947, as East Pakistan occupied a strategic space between India's Northeast and the Port of Kolkata. This shifting political landscape led to the development of roads and railways as a more preferred mode of transportation across borders.xii It is not surprising that at present less than two percent of goods are transported by water and 75 percent of imports and exports in South Asian occur in roads.xiii
Post-independence initiatives towards inland water transport took a piecemeal approach at the domestic and regional level. While at the domestic level, there were a few sporadic developments with the establishment of Ministry of Shipping and Transport in 1965, soon in 1985, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was set up with specific guidelines related to infrastructure for development of waterways.xiv These guidelines highlighted the need for training in conserving the river, controlling the activities of dumping, regulating traffic and structures and disseminating meteorological information amongst others. Meanwhile at the bilateral level, India and Bangladesh signed the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWITT) which provided for inter-country trade for commercial purposes. This was renewed on 6 June 2015 with a clause of automatic renewal for a further period of five years.xv Article 8 of the trade agreement clarifies that the two governments mutually agree for the “use of their waterways for commerce between the two countries and for passage of goods between two places in one country and to third countries through the territory of other.”xvi This protocol also holds each government responsible for maintaining riverine routes within its territory and mandates the provision of essential services such as pilotage, night navigation, hydrographic surveys, and supply chains for both commercial and navigational purposes.xvii There are a total of 10 routes which have been identified so farxviii as illustrated in the figure below.
Source: Assam Inland Water Transport Development Society
https://www.aiwtdsociety.in/page/special-fetaures/indo-bangladesh-protocol-route7
The protocol specifies that the vessel can carry only ‘commercial goods’ and has to be registered under the Inland Vessel Act 1917 as amended from time to time in both the countries.xix It has also decided that both countries will provide the facilities of ‘port of call’ to the vessels of other countries engaged in intercountry trade and the number of such ports of call will be equal in both countries.xx These ports of calls for India are: Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu and Shilghat and for Bangladesh: Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj and Ashuganj.xxi In May 2017, the two governments further signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to operate river cruises on the PIWTT routes.xxii This led to sailing of the MV Mahabaahu––the first ever river cruise on the mighty Brahmaputra from Pandu to Kolkata via Bangladesh.xxiii
Moreover, the addition of Sonamura-Daudkandi stretch on the Gomti river (93 km) (IBP Route 9 & 10) is expected to enhance connectivity for Tripura and neighbouring states with markets in mainland India and Bangladesh. Likewise, the Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi route and its extension up to Aricha (270 km) is expected to improve infrastructure in Bangladesh by reducing transportation costs for raw materials and land customs duties.xxiv Similarly, the ‘ports of call’ and ‘extended ports of call' have increased in both sides, which was originally under the IBP, 2015 was six, is now extended to thirteen ports each. These ports of calls are important for study as many of these are being transformed into Multi-Modal Logistic Park (MMLP). For instance, Jogigopha in India and Bahadurabad port in Bangladesh seek to connect the majority of landlocked Northeastern states like Meghalaya, neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Nepal to the Bay of Bengal through these ports of calls.xxv Bhutan has already started using these routes from Dhubri riverport in Assam, to Narayanganj in Bangladeshxxvi.
Some media reports claim that ecological and social concerns have and will be addressed by policies. For instance, the Inland Waterways Authority of India has decided that speed restriction would be maintained in the sanctuary area with propeller guards being mandatory. More importantly, during dredging, a buffer zone (100 metres wide on either side and 500 metres upstream and downstream will be maintained) to minimise impacts on dolphins, and dredging will be regulated during fish breeding and spawning seasons. Meanwhile Bangladesh on its part has decided that environmental safeguards will align with India, whereby ships will be required to regulate their speeds in specific stretches where banks are at risk of erosion from the waves generated by passing vessels.xxvii However, such a risk based assessment which is inclusive of ecological and social concerns requires that a regional framework based on building and augmenting the adaptive capacity of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna Basin is given serious thought. Sustainable dredging and comprehensive port master plans are important building blocks in this processxxviii.
Strategic Importance of Inland Waterways
As part of the strategic vision initiated by subregional diplomacy, it can be said that India-Bangladesh cooperation has indeed opened the way for subregional outreach to Bhutan and Nepal. Significantly, the strategic vision offered by Act East Policy and Neighbourhood First Policy (NFP) in 2014, becomes relevant in this context. This view was also promoted during the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue, where Prime Minister Modi outlined the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision, which seeks to link India's east and northeast regions with its eastern neighbours through the Act EastPolicy.xxix While the most dominant narrative in these connectivity projects has been anchored around sustainable energy transition and a regional effort to promote carbon neutrality, the strategic regional outreach to East Asian countries via the Northeast region cannot be undermined. This is particularly relevant in the larger backdrop of de-risking from China and exploring alternate supply chains in future. Cooperation with Mekong countries has become an important aspect of riverine diplomacy, and Northeast India could be a central node for ensuring and sustaining the supply chains of the future.
Apart from India and Bangladesh, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are facilitating actors in the network of connections that are being formed. Dhubri, Silghat, Neamati, Dibrugarh are central terminal facilities for loading and unloading of cargoes. All these are being maintained by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).xxx Multi-modal ports are being developed at Pandu, Jogighopa,xxxi which can serve as an important hub to foster greater connection with the Northeast region and its neighbouring countries. Significantly, World Bank and Asian Development Bank are critical in providing funding and technical know-how. On its part, the World Bank has consolidated the existing 10 transboundary protocol routes into its Eastern Waterways Grid. This route aims to connect National Waterway 1 (NW1) to NW2 through Bangladesh. The World Bank described this project as a step towards enhancing cooperation and trade among the BBIN subregion.xxxii
While India gains from alternative connectivity to the Northeast region, reducing its reliance on the narrow corridor of chicken's neck, Bangladesh benefits by collecting port fees and providing cargo handling and other services. Its garment industry, in specific benefits by obtaining resources at a cheaper rate from its neighbours and access to markets in India, Nepal and Bhutan.xxxiii Within India, the segment between Haldia and Varanasi and the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia received financial and technical support from the World Bank under the Jal Marg Vikas Project.xxxiv This initiative is estimated to benefit countries like Nepal and Bhutan. The most recently inaugurated Kalughat Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminal and community jetties services at Saran Bihar will enable cargo transportation from Kolkata to Nepal through this waterway.xxxv Likewise, the Gazipur terminal, which is devoted to the trading of LNG (liquefied natural gas), would make it easier to ship LNG to Nepal through Ghazipur.xxxvi It is also envisioned that these initiatives will encourage new jobs and facilitate the growth of auxiliary industries along the route thus opening up new commercial shipping opportunities with neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.xxxvii
Significantly, Japan has also given India its support in enhancing power, water supply, road connectivity, and skill development in the Northeast region under the Japan-India Act East Forum. Some of the major infrastructure projects include the National Highway 40 (NH40), connecting Shillong to Dawki (NH 51), Tura to Dalu (NH 54) connecting Aizawl and Tuipang in Mizoram.xxxviii The Government of Assam is also working with the World Bank with the aim to modernise Assam’s passenger ferry sector.xxxix Moreover, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, India and Japan are exploring the possibilities of a corridor that would connect Gelephu in Bhutan to Dalu, located on the Meghalaya and Bangladesh border.xl This route is expected to contribute to multimodal linkages in the Northeast region. Plans are being drafted to transform Silchar into a logistics hub. Multimodal transport linkages from Silchar to Myanmar and Bangladesh are being considered as part of the Government of India's Act East policy, which aims to decongest Guwahati.xli
Is BBIN at the Intersection of Water Diplomacy?
Given the aforementioned discussion, it can be stated that cooperation through rivers is manifesting itself as a networked model to water cooperation where state actors, multilateral development banks and civil society can play an important role through multi-layered governance. An understanding of BBIN through inland water transport is also suggestive of an emergent regional framework, where ecological issues need to be centre-stage.xlii If one casts a look at water diplomacy that exists between India and Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, most treaties are bilateral in nature with little or no reference to basin level management. For instance, in the case of India-Nepal relations three agreements have been signed on the three tributaries of Ganges–––Kosi, Gandak and Mahakali. These are bilateral treaties and do not focus on basin level cooperation. They mostly focus on flood management and developing multi-purpose dam projects for attaining food and energy security, with an aberrant reference to soil conservation, afforestation and looking at projects in an ‘integrated manner.’xliii Experts have regularly cautioned against sedimentation management, patterns related to shifting of river courses, and land use changes and the impact these have on hydrological regimes. A case of lack of basin management is reflected in the absence of regulations on the Chure mountain range where a lot of mining happens. Cases such as these lead to problems of siltation, sedimentation and flash-floods.xliv
Meanwhile, water cooperation between India and Bangladesh has revolved around three rivers––– Ganges, Teesta and Barak. From the perspective of river morphology, many sand bars (river islands or chars) are formed in the rivers of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Bangladesh. These chars are formed by flooding, shifting of river channels and bank erosion. While the Preamble of the Ganges Water Treaty mentions the term River Basin, the Treaty is focused on augmenting the flows in the dry season, not taking upper riparian and lower riparian issues into consideration. There is also no mention of a basin-wide approach to finding integrated solutions and increasing dry river flow. Both countries need to address issues of siltation, sufficient depth and width of channels, flooding and migration due to desertification.xlv Significantly, while upstream impacts the downstream, the downstream too impacts midstream and upstream.
While existing treaties are largely managerial and technical in nature not taking cognizance of relations and connections in the river basin as a whole, it is high time that as part of Neighbourhood First Policy, Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) is given serious thought. Significantly, the IRBM approach is already finding a place in India, Nepal and Bangladesh through their domestic policies. Some examples are Ganges River Basin Management Plan in India, Kamala River Basin Plan in Nepal and Bangladesh Delta Management Plan.
Recent literature has noted that while the projects associated with Inland Water Transport promise significant economic and logistical advantages, there are concerns about environmental impact, displacement of communities, infrastructural maintenance costs, and regulatory complexities. For example, in 2016, after the enactment of the National Waterways Act, which declared 111 river stretches as National Waterways (NW), many civil society groups expressed concern about the effects of hazardous chemicals, coal, and industrial raw materials that the ships mostly carry on the river. The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), on its part highlighted impact of the proposed NW1 project to build multimodal terminals at Varanasi, Sahibganj, and Haldia along this riverine stretch, which is inhabited by fisheries and Gangetic dolphins.xlvi Studies have also documented the distress of dolphins due to loud noise and their disappearance from dredging sites, which threatens their habitat and could lead to extinction, similar to the case of the Baiji dolphins in China driven to extinction during inland navigation projects.xlvii
In the case of NW2, forceful land acquisition, dredging of the river, displacement of people are some of the major issues with regard to inland water navigation. Manthan Adhyayan Kendra,xlviii in a workshop conducted on the possible impacts of inland waterways, highlighted that the period during which dredging occurs in NW2 (from October to March) coincides with the migration of Hilsa fish. Experts have noted that there have been no reports yet regarding the impact of movement of ships on aquatic species and fish populations. Moreover, Northeast India has many wetlands, which will beaffected by slow water flow and shall dry when there is no river flushing taking place. Experts fear that too much focus on commercialization can impact aquatic life.xlix While it is true that compared to roads and railways, waterways require less maintenance and are economical, the associated risks need to be assessed carefully. Appropriate scalar interventions as well as role and impact of smaller rivers and local catchments also need to be taken into consideration
IRBM needs to be brought into water diplomacy discourse through adaptive governance and adaptive risk management. The interconnections in nature are complex and, therefore, require complex and dynamic solutions not static ones. The recent surge of invasive alien species should also find place in policy discourses.l While the political economy on mitigation and climate change has been gaining traction in South Asia, an IRBM approach with a systematic focus on emerging risks and appropriate interventions in local, meso and/or macro scales can help take the discourse further. However, a paradigm shift is needed in terms of revisiting the existing water diplomacy frameworks in South Asia, and specific aspects associated with river morphology which impact upstream downstream linkages such as sedimentation, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), flood management need to be studied.
Conclusion: BBIN -in between economics, politics and ecology
Thus, it would not be wrong to say that BBIN countries are at the cross-roads of different logics. With unfolding developments in the strategic landscape, a distinct balancing act is emerging in Asia. With China asserting itself in India’s Northern borders and making inroads into South Asia, it is most likely that in near future riparian politics in the Himalayas will be influenced by scenarios unfolding in the Taiwan Straits and South China Sea. Tactics like discontinuing flood data, as it happened during Doklam, are not new to the Chinese mind. Interestingly, while China continues to play long term game of ‘active defence’ no longer hiding its strength and biding its time, New Delhi, on its part, has opted for external balancing with regards to alignments being formed with the United States, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan and internal balancing with regards to upgrading its military buildup in the Northern Land Theatre and the Eastern Theatre Command and moral balancing -with regard to the position it has upheld on the freedom of navigation and rule of law. However, a missing thread in this grand strategic design and an important wild card which shall determine the success and failure of New Delhi’s strategy is its sub regional diplomacy with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, which in the long term shall be a source for ensuring its supply chains to Southeast Asian countries.
Initiatives being taken at the subregional level are promising bringing Northeast India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal to the forefront of rivers, ports and ocean connectivityli. However, the conditions under which such strategies shall achieve their political objective will be contingent on balancing the commercial, ecological and social aspects associated with inland water transport. An appropriate starting point is to broaden and deepen the engagement by upgrading the existing water agreements, and also pitch a narrative to highlight the centrality of the Tibet Autonomous Region in attaining ecological and economic security for South Asia. While IRBM offers a way out, it should be followed by policy action at multiple scales.
Medha Bisht is an Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi and Yubaraj Das is a Masters student at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above and the information available including graphics and images are those of the author/s and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the position of Asian Confluence.
Endnotes:
i S. Kathuria, A Glass Half Full: The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia. South Asia Development Forum. (Washington DC: World Bank, 2018), http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30246
ii G. Padmaja, Linking India’s Inland Waterways to Bay of Bengal: Assessing the Potential of Sub-regional Cooperation(New Delhi: National Maritime Foundation, July 6, 2017).
iii Ibid.
iv Ibid.
v See Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region at https://mdoner.gov.in/print/infrastructure/inland-waterways-in- ner
vi Ibid.
vii Ibid.
viii Ibid, p. 3.
ix Ibid.
x P. Nath, P. Das, & S. Chattopadhyay, Indo-Bangladesh Cooperation on Inland Waterways: Recent Developments, Possibilities, and Ideas towards Enhancing Livelihoods and Prosperity in the Sub-region.(Shillong: Asian Confluence, 2020).
xi G. Padmaja, Op. cit. p. 3.
xii Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region, Op. cit.
xiii C. Fruman, & J. Roome, “Helping South Asia Navigate Shared Waters”, World Bank Blogs, April 5, 2022, https:// blogs.worldbank.org/en/endpovertyinsouthasia/helping-south-asia-navigate-shared-waters
xiv Statistics on Inland Water Transport 2019-2020 , p.2.
xv Government of India, “Development of National Waterways in North East India”, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, 2022,
https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2022/jun/doc202261464701.pdf
xvi Government of India, “Development of National Waterways in North East India”, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, 2022, https://iwai.nic.in/sites/default/files/indo-inward-outward/9253260490scan0015.pdf xvii Ibid.
xviii Written as four routes since reciprocal routes are considered separate. In June 18, 2015, Eight routes identified: Kolkata
xix Protocol on Inland Water, Transit and Trade, 2015, https://iwai.nic.in/sites/default/files/indo-inward- outward/9253260490scan0015.pdf
xx Ibid.
xxi Ibid.
xxii Protocol on Inland Water, Transit and Trade, 2015, https://iwai.nic.in/sites/default/files/indo-inward-outward/ Standard_Operating_Procedures_and_cruiseservices
xxiii S. Karmakar, “First Indo-Bangla river cruise sets sail on Brahmaputra”, Deccan Herald, April 29, 2019. xxiv P. Nath, P. Das, & S. Chattopadhyay,, Op. cit.
xxv Ibid.
xxviD. K. Dash, “India connects Bangladesh to Bhutan, through waterway”, Times of India, July 13, 2019: Also see T. Mishra, “Vision 2047: Port handling capacity to be raised by 4X”, The Economic Times, December 23, 2022.
xxvii J. Gupta, “How the India-Bangladesh Waterway builds Cooperation”, Dialogue Earth, February 24, 2023. xxviii A. Karomah, Dredging Challenges in Ports and Harbors: Solutions for Global Trade, Azo Cleantech, October 17, 2023.
xxix S. Bose, & P. Basu, “In search of the sea: Opening India's Northeast to the Bay of Bengal”, ORF Special Report, June
2021.
xxxMinistry of Development of Northeastern Region, Op. cit.
xxxi Ibid.
xxxii N. Stankevich, E. Nora, & A. Bandyopadhyay, Eastern Waterways Grid to benefit Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, World Bank Blogs, July 1, 2021.
xxxiii Ibid.
xxxivPress Information Bureau, Jal Marg Vikas Project, 2017, https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=159372
xxxv Ibid
xxxvi G. Padmaja, Op. cit.
xxxvii N. Stankevich, E. Nora, & A. Bandyopadhyay, Op. cit.
xxxviii S. Bose, & P. Basu, Op. cit.
xxxix Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Inland waterways In the North Eastern Region Workshops. Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, 2024.
xl S. Bose, & P. Basu, Op. cit.
xli SASEC, Planned Multimodal Linkages to Turn Silchar into a Transport Hub, May 27, 2018, https:// www.sasec.asia/index.php?page=news&nid=892&url=silchar-as-transport-hub
xlii CUTS International, “Development of Inland Waterways for Trade and Transit at BBIN”, SDIP Advocacy Brief, No. 4, 2016.
xliii Government of India, “Revised Agreement on Chose Project Annexure, Agreement 25 April 1954”, 1966, https:// www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/6156/Revised+Agreement; Also see “Treaty Between His Majesty’s
Government of Nepal And The Government of India Concerning The Integrated Development of the Mahakali Barrage Including Sarada Barrage, Tanakpur Barrage and Pancheshwar Project”, https://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/regionaldocs/Mahakali_Treaty-1996.pdf
xliv CUTS International, Op. cit.
xlv Ibid.
xlvi SANDRP. Riverine Fisherfolk as Mascots of flowing rivers and how 4 projects treat them today. SANDRP. https:// sandrp.in/2017/12/15/riverine-fisherfolk-as-mascots-of-flowing-rivers-and-how-4-projects-treat-them-today/, December
14, 2017,
xlvii Ibid.
xlviii Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Op. cit.
xlix Ibid.
l U. S. Mishra, Alien weed rings alarm bells in the Northeast, Down to Earth, 2017, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/alien-weed-rings-alarm-bells-in-the-northeast-57891
li G. Padmaja, Op. cit.
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