A barge carrying 540 metric tonnes of methanol left the Bogibeel terminal on the Brahmaputra river in Assam’s Dibrugarh for Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday. This marked the first cargo shipment from Upper Assam to a foreign port since India’s independence in 1947, nearly 70 years after the town’s river ghat was closed.
Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the vessel in presence of a large number of dignitaries including several ministers, MPs, MLAs. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the event virtually.
Dibrugarh was once among the busiest river ports in eastern India. “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. He added that India is working with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar on regional waterway links. The voyage involved the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Assam Petro Chemicals, Cochin Bunkers Pvt. Ltd. and partners in Bangladesh.
Government steamers reached the town from Calcutta, now Kolkata, by 1856. In 1882, the Dibru-Sadiya Railway began operating from the Dibrugarh steamer ghat. By 1913, steamers sailed up the Brahmaputra to the town daily, carrying tea, timber and passengers. Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), cargo on India’s national waterways rose from 18 million metric tons in fiscal 2013-14 to 218 million metric tons in 2025-26, according to the Ministry of Ports.
“Every ton we move on the river means less fuel burnt and fewer trucks on the highway,” Sonowal said. 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.
For 70 years, that whistle fell silent and the ships stopped coming,” Sonowal said. “Our grandparents grew up hearing the steamer whistle at Dibrugarh Ghat. The river never failed us. What it lacked for decades was the will to revive it. Sonowal added. “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 said the shipment was a beginning. “This is the first voyage, not the last,” he said.
“Today, a ship leaves Dibrugarh for the world once again.
