A barge carrying 540 metric tonnes of methanol left Bogibeel terminal on the Brahmaputra in Assam’s Dibrugarh for Dhaka on Monday, marking the first cargo shipment from Upper Assam to a foreign port since India gained independence in 1947.
The historic voyage came nearly 70 years after Dibrugarh’s river ghat was closed, reports Hindustan Times.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the vessel at a ceremony attended by several ministers, MPs and MLAs. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the event virtually.
The methanol, produced by state-owned Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd (APCL) at Namrup, is destined for Pangaon Port in Dhaka.
The vessel will travel around 768 kilometres along National Waterway-2 on the Brahmaputra to the India-Bangladesh border before continuing through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR).
It will cover a total distance of around 1,300 kilometres from Bogibeel in Dibrugarh to Narayanganj in Dhaka.
Authorities are closely watching the voyage as a test of whether the Brahmaputra can become a commercially viable freight corridor connecting the Northeast with overseas markets.
“Our grandparents grew up hearing the steamer whistle at Dibrugarh Ghat. For 70 years, that whistle fell silent and the ships stopped coming,” Sonowal said. “Today, a ship leaves Dibrugarh for the world once again. The river never failed us. What it lacked for decades was the will to revive it.”
“Assam’s own product, made in Namrup, is now traveling to an international market on Assam’s own river. The Northeast is no longer a frontier. It is India’s gateway to the East,” he said.
Sonowal described the shipment as the beginning of a new chapter, saying, “This is the first voyage, not the last.”
Sarma also described the occasion as a proud day for Assam.
Dibrugarh was once one of eastern India’s busiest river ports. Government steamers reached the town from Calcutta, now Kolkata, by 1856. The Dibru-Sadiya Railway began operating from the Dibrugarh steamer ghat in 1882.
By 1913, steamers were travelling daily up the Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh, carrying tea, timber and passengers.
The 1947 Partition disrupted the route, forcing Assam’s goods to pass through East Pakistan to reach Calcutta. A 1950 earthquake altered the riverbed at Dibrugarh, while regular bookings from Dibrugarh Ghat stopped in 1954.
The ghat was eventually closed on October 15, 1956, as tea shipments shifted to rail. The 1965 India-Pakistan war later suspended cross-border river trade.
India and Bangladesh signed a river trade protocol in 1972. In 1988, the 891-kilometre stretch of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri was declared National Waterway-2.
However, regular cargo services on the waterway did not begin until December 2017, when cement was transported from Pandu to Dhubri.
“For decades, that glory was allowed to fade. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, we set out to give Dibrugarh back its rightful place. The Bogibeel terminal, the customs and immigration complex and fixed schedule cargo services under ‘Jalvahak’ are giving this historic town modern amenities and world-class infrastructure. We are building for the future while reinstating the heritage that made Dibrugarh great. Today, as cargo leaves Dibrugarh for a foreign port once again, the town’s proud past and its promising future meet on the same river,” Sonowal added.
River activity along the route has increased in recent years. Tata Steel barges reached Pandu through Bangladesh in February 2022, while the river cruise ship MV Ganga Vilas travelled from Varanasi to Dibrugarh through Bangladesh in 2023.
The Bogibeel passenger and cargo terminal, for which the foundation stone was laid in July 2023, opened in February 2024. The ‘Jalvahak’ cargo incentive programme was launched in December 2024.
According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), cargo transported through India’s national waterways increased from 18 million metric tonnes in fiscal 2013-14 to 218 million metric tonnes in 2025-26.
More than 68 billion rupees, or around $770 million, is being invested in waterways across the Northeast. The investment includes development of National Waterway-2, a ship repair facility at Pandu and last-mile connectivity to Pandu Port.
“Every ton we move on the river means less fuel burnt and fewer trucks on the highway,” Sonowal said.
He added that India is working with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar to develop regional waterway links.
The voyage involves the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Assam Petro Chemicals, Cochin Bunkers Pvt. Ltd. and partners in Bangladesh.
