India's First Riverine Lighthouses Laid on Brahmaputra

10 Mar 2026 CW Team

The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, laid foundation stones for four river lighthouses on the Brahmaputra at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati. The ceremony was organised by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The project marks the first deployment of lighthouse infrastructure on an inland waterway in the country.

The four sites at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat and Biswanath Ghat are positioned at strategic points along National Waterway two. The combined project outlay is Rs 840 million (840 mn) for the four lighthouses. Each tower will be 20 metres high, have a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of eight to 10 nautical miles, and will be powered entirely by solar energy.

The lighthouses will include museums, amphitheatres, cafeterias, children's play areas, souvenir shops and landscaped public spaces to promote tourism alongside navigation. Their commissioning responds to a 53 per cent surge in cargo movement on the Brahmaputra in the financial year 2024–25, making the corridor integral to Assam's tea, coal and fertiliser supply chains as well as passenger services. The facilities are expected to enable 24×7 safe navigation, host weather sensors and support sustained growth of freight and passenger movement.

The initiative followed a feasibility exercise, an MoU between IWAI and DGLL signed on 8 April 2025 and site transfers under Right of Use agreements in June 2025. Each lighthouse is scheduled for completion within 24 months of contract award after geotechnical investigation, topographic survey and detailed design. The DGLL is responsible for aids to navigation across India's 11,098 kilometre coastline and IWAI administers a national waterways network spanning over 20,000 kilometres, with National Waterway two covering 891 kilometres from Dhubri to Sadiya.

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