India's First Riverine Lighthouses to Be Built on Brahmaputra

10 Mar 2026 CW Team

The four sites at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat and Biswanath Ghat are located at strategic points on the south and north banks of the river. The combined project outlay is Rs 840 million (Rs 840 mn) and each lighthouse will rise to 20 metres with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of eight–10 nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy. Each site will include a museum, amphitheatre and public amenities to position the structures as tourism landmarks as well as navigational aids.

The commissioning follows a 53 per cent increase in cargo movement on NW-2 in 2024–25 as recorded by IWAI and reflects rising freight and passenger traffic on the Brahmaputra corridor. Authorities said the lighthouses will enable round the clock navigation, host weather observation sensors and provide the navigational infrastructure required for sustained growth of Assam's tea, coal and fertiliser supply chains. Officials highlighted cost and environmental advantages of inland water transport compared with road and rail.

The project followed an MoU signed on April eight, 2025 between IWAI and DGLL and sites were transferred under Right of Use agreements in June 2025 after technical clearance. Each lighthouse is scheduled for completion within 24 months of contract award following geotechnical investigation, topographic survey and detailed design. The DGLL will extend its mandate for aids to navigation to inland waterways while the IWAI will continue to administer and develop India's national waterways network, which includes the 891 kilometre navigable stretch of NW-2 between Dhubri and Sadiya.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal laid foundation stones for four riverine lighthouses on the Brahmaputra at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati, in a ceremony organised by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships and the Inland Waterways Authority of India. The project is the first deployment of lighthouse infrastructure on an inland waterway in India and is intended to improve navigational safety and support tourism on National Waterway-2. Senior state and central officials attended the event. The four sites at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat and Biswanath Ghat are located at strategic points on the south and north banks of the river. The combined project outlay is Rs 840 million (Rs 840 mn) and each lighthouse will rise to 20 metres with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of eight–10 nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy. Each site will include a museum, amphitheatre and public amenities to position the structures as tourism landmarks as well as navigational aids. The commissioning follows a 53 per cent increase in cargo movement on NW-2 in 2024–25 as recorded by IWAI and reflects rising freight and passenger traffic on the Brahmaputra corridor. Authorities said the lighthouses will enable round the clock navigation, host weather observation sensors and provide the navigational infrastructure required for sustained growth of Assam's tea, coal and fertiliser supply chains. Officials highlighted cost and environmental advantages of inland water transport compared with road and rail. The project followed an MoU signed on April eight, 2025 between IWAI and DGLL and sites were transferred under Right of Use agreements in June 2025 after technical clearance. Each lighthouse is scheduled for completion within 24 months of contract award following geotechnical investigation, topographic survey and detailed design. The DGLL will extend its mandate for aids to navigation to inland waterways while the IWAI will continue to administer and develop India's national waterways network, which includes the 891 kilometre navigable stretch of NW-2 between Dhubri and Sadiya.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Infrastructure Urban

12 Mar 2026

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..