From Dibrugarh to Dhaka by river: India revives a trade route silent for 70 years

Dibrugarh has sent its first international cargo to Bangladesh by river since Independence, reviving a trade route that had fallen silent nearly 70 years ago.

A barge carrying 540 metric tonnes of methanol left the Bogibeel Terminal in Dibrugarh for Pangaon Port in Dhaka, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said on Monday.

Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the vessel DLB Patkai, pushed by the tug Kushal Konwar. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the ceremony virtually.

The voyage is being seen as a test of whether the Brahmaputra can become a commercially viable freight corridor linking the Northeast with overseas markets. Regular methanol shipments to Bangladesh are planned.

The methanol was produced by state-owned Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd at Namrup, the statement said. The vessel will travel about 768 km along National Waterway-2 on the Brahmaputra to the India-Bangladesh border before continuing along the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.

The total journey from Bogibeel to Narayanganj in Dhaka will be about 1,300 km.

"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."

Sarma called it a proud day for Assam.

"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.

A river route reopens

Dibrugarh was once among 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 sailing up the Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh every day, 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. Regular bookings from Dibrugarh Ghat stopped in 1954, and the ghat closed on October 15, 1956, as tea shipments shifted to rail.

The 1965 India-Pakistan war further suspended cross-border river trade. India and Bangladesh signed a river trade protocol in 1972.

In 1988, the 891-km stretch of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri was declared National Waterway-2. Regular cargo service on the waterway began only in December 2017, when cement was transported from Pandu to Dhubri.

Building a new freight corridor

Activity on the route has increased in recent years. Tata Steel barges reached Pandu through Bangladesh in February 2022. In 2023, the river cruise ship MV Ganga Vilas travelled from Varanasi to Dibrugarh through Bangladesh.

The Bogibeel passenger and cargo terminal, whose foundation stone was laid in July 2023, opened in February 2024. The Jalvahak cargo incentive programme was launched in December 2024.

The latest shipment became possible after customs and immigration complexes were recently established at Bogibeel and Dhubri.

"This is the first voyage, not the last," Sonowal said. "To the youth of Assam I say: Dream with this river. The world is no longer far away. It is downstream. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dibrugarh, the Tea Capital of India, is reclaiming the glory it once had as a great river port. We are building it with world-class infrastructure while honouring its heritage. The steamer whistle that fell silent in 1956 is heard again."

Sonowal said the government was seeking to restore Dibrugarh's role as a river port while building new infrastructure.

"For decades, that glory was allowed to fade. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 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," he said.

According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, cargo carried on India's national waterways rose from 18 million metric tonnes in fiscal 2013-14 to 218 million metric tonnes in 2025-26.

More than ₹6,800 crore 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.