Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on flagged off four catamaran vessels at Pandu Port in Guwahati namely MV Meghna, MV Sudershan, MV Padma and MV Indra.

Inaugurating the catamaran vessels at Pandu Port, CM Sarma said that the state government has planned to launch 10 vessels with a cost of Rs. 770 crores by taking a loan from World Bank. "These vessels are launched under a World Bank-funded project to transform quality of IWT services and integrate high quality passenger & vehicle ferry services into Assam's wider transport network system," the Chief Minister said.

He further stated that out of 4 vessels, 2 will ply over river Brahmaputra at Majuli & 1 each between Guwahati and North Guwahati & Uzanbazar-Umananda.

The catamaran vessels have the capacity to carry 100 passengers and 50 motorcycles per vessel. The safety features of steel catamaran vessels are it is more stable, the marine engines provide better manoeuvrability. The GPS enabled vessels are easy to track and it is equipped with fire extinguishers and alarms.

The Chief Minister also launched an e-ticketing system for the Umananda ferry service. "Two new ferries will be operational between Guwahati and North Guwahati. People will now be able to book tickets online if one wants to travel between Guwahati and Umananda. E-ticketing system will also be launched between Guwahati and North Guwahati," CM Sarma said.