The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has been actively engaged in the development and modernisation of National Waterways, aiming to promote inland water transport as a cost-effective and eco-friendly mode of transportation. Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, inaugurated the dredging work at National Waterways 44 (Ichamati River) in West Bengal. During the event, Thakur stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously emphasised the significance of inland waterways in fuelling India's economic growth. Under his leadership, The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways is dedicated to the unprecedented development of National Waterways. The dredging work from Tentulia to Kalanchi covering a distance of 23.38 km has commenced with the goal of achieving a navigational depth of 1.5 m (1.2 m + 0.3 m tolerance) and enhancing tidal influence in the river. A budget of Rs 30.77 million has been allocated for dredging and related expenses until March 2023, and further funding will be sanctioned for the fiscal year 2023-24 as required. Additionally, a higher capacity dredger will be deployed based on the results of this initial dredging. To improve navigability, various obstacles such as water hyacinth, weeds, plastic and non-plastic waste, natural and artificial materials (including dumped materials) were cleared from Tentulia (Ch 40 km) to Kalanchi (Ch 63.38 km). The quantity of dredging required was assessed in this process. In the first phase, the construction of the Taranipur bridge (Ch 61.9 km) is actively being considered on a deposit work basis, with funding of Rs 1.36 billion under the Sagarmala project of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. Furthermore, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has taken steps to replace the existing temporary bamboo bridge. Jadavpur University, Kolkata, has been assigned the task of studying, designing, drawing, and estimating costs for replacing the temporary bamboo bridge at Swarupnagar.