India’s First Riverine Lighthouses on Brahmaputra

Guwahati, March 5, 2026 — In a pioneering move for inland water transport, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday laid the foundation stones for four riverine lighthouses along the Brahmaputra, marking the first time such lighthouse infrastructure will be developed on an inland waterway in India.

The foundation ceremony was held at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati and jointly organised by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW).

The four lighthouses will be constructed at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district, Pandu in Kamrup (Metro) district, Silghat in Nagaon district — all on the south bank of the river — and Biswanath Ghat in Biswanath district on the north bank. These locations lie along the Brahmaputra, designated as National Waterway-2 (NW-2), one of India’s most significant inland cargo and passenger corridors.

The combined project cost stands at approximately ₹84 crore. Each lighthouse will be 20 metres tall, with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8–10 nautical miles. The structures will be powered entirely by solar energy.

Apart from enhancing navigational safety, the sites are being developed as tourism landmarks. Each location will include a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children’s play area, souvenir shop and landscaped public spaces.

The project comes in response to a 53 per cent surge in cargo movement on the Brahmaputra during the financial year 2024–25, as recorded by IWAI. NW-2 has witnessed consistent growth and plays a crucial role in supporting Assam’s tea, coal and fertiliser industries, along with passenger and tourism traffic.

Speaking at the event, Sonowal said inland waterways are being positioned as a force multiplier for the economy. He noted that freight transport through waterways costs significantly less than road transport, generates lower carbon emissions and reduces congestion on highways. He described the new riverine lighthouses as a statement that India’s rivers are ready for round-the-clock commercial activity.

He further stated that as traffic on NW-2 increases, environmental and congestion benefits will multiply, including reduced emissions, lower accident risks and improved supply chain resilience for the Northeast. The “Deepstambh” lighthouses, he added, will make night navigation safe and reliable, enabling 24×7 waterway operations.

The ceremony was attended by Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Assam Minister of Tourism; Charan Boro, Minister of Transport; Jayanta Mallabaruah, Minister of Public Health Engineering; Bijuli Kalita Medhi, Member of Parliament, Guwahati; and Siddhartha Bhattacharya, MLA, East Guwahati. Senior officials present included Vijay Kumar, Secretary, MoPSW, and N. Muruganandam, Director General, DGLL.

The initiative was conceived following an exploration by the Minister’s Office into the feasibility of riverine lighthouses in the Northeast. An MoU between IWAI and DGLL was signed on April 8, 2025, and the sites were transferred to DGLL in June 2025 under Right of Use agreements after approval by the Central Advisory Committee for Aids to Navigation. Each lighthouse is scheduled for completion within 24 months of the award of contract.

DGLL, the statutory authority responsible for aids to navigation along India’s 11,098-kilometre coastline, will now extend its expertise to inland waterways. IWAI administers over 20,000 kilometres of national waterways infrastructure across the country.

National Waterway-2 connects Dhubri in West Bengal to Sadiya in upper Assam across a navigable stretch of 891 kilometres — the longest navigable stretch of any Indian waterway — passing through the heart of the Northeast. The four riverine lighthouses mark the beginning of a broader effort to strengthen navigational safety infrastructure on India’s inland waterways.