ICHAMATI RIVER (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has started work to revive the Ichamati River. The government  has declared a part of 63 km of the Ichhamati River as a National Waterway and marked it as Waterway number 44.

Ichamati River

• Other name: Also known as Ichamathi River.
• Ichhamati River is a transboundary river that flows through West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh.
• Origin: It is one of the bifurcations of river Mathabhanga and originates at Mahjdia village in the Nadia district of West Bengal.
• Three Parts of River: The longer part flows from the Mathabhanga River, then it joins the Kalindi River and then in North-24 Parganas and Debhata in Satkhira District.
• Tributaries: Ichhamati River and its tributaries form a large oxbow lake complex in North 24-Parganas district near Bangaon.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

• About: The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is an autonomous organization that was established on October 27, 1986, in accordance with the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985.
• IWAI's primary responsibility is the development, maintenance, and regulation of waterways that have been designated as National Waterways (NWs) under the National Waterways Act of 2016.
• Headquarter: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
• IWAI carries out the implementation of policy guidelines and directives issued by the Inland Water Transport (IWT) Wing.