Inland Waterways Authority's River Cruise Proposal for Goa Faces Uncertainty

Panaji: While the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) proposed to develop a river cruise circuit along South Goa’s Sal river, the minister for ports, Aleixo Sequeira, said that there is no correspondence or concrete plan for such river cruises. Sequeira mentioned that the proposal was suggested by IWAI during a meeting held on Feb 10, but the department remains in the dark about it.
Sequeira, in a written submission to the state legislative assembly, stated that no detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared or published by IWAI for the Sal river.
“During the Inland Waterways Development Council meeting and during the river cruise tourism video conference meeting held on Feb 10, the proposal was suggested. However, this department has not received any correspondence or any concrete plan, nor has any commitment been given by state govt,” said Sequeira.
IWAI conducted an online meeting with the tourism departments of all states, including Goa, on river cruise tourism. Captain of Ports Octavio Rodrigues was present for the meeting, but “no specific viewpoints were expressed” by govt officials, said Sequeira.
The IWAI proposed to connect the Cavelossim-Betul fort and Betul lighthouse through river cruises, with three floating jetties likely to be installed for the cruises. The IWAI also dropped its plan to proceed with the proposed cruise circuit covering Britona jetty–Aldona jetty along the Mapusa river, as the area lacks major tourist attractions.



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