The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has been actively involved in the development and modernisation of national waterways, with the aim of promoting inland waterway transport as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly mode of transport. Shantanu Thakur, Secretary of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, opened the dredging work at National Waterways 44 (Ichamati River) in West Bengal.

Speaking at the event, Thakur stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously stressed the importance of inland waterways in fuelling India's economic growth. Under his leadership, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is committed to the unprecedented development of National Waterways. The dredging work from Tentulia to Kalanchi over a distance of 23.38 km has started with the aim of achieving a sailing depth of 1.5 m (1.2 m + 0.3 m tolerance) and increasing the tidal influence in the river. A budget of Rs 30.77 million has been allocated for dredging and related expenditure until March 2023, and further funding will be sanctioned for the 2023-24 fiscal year as required. In addition, based on the results of this initial dredging work, a dredger with a higher capacity will be deployed.

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). In this process, the required amount of dredge was assessed. In the first phase, the construction of the Taranipur Bridge (Ch 61.9 km) is actively being considered on the basis of deposit work, 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 tasked with studying, designing, drawing and estimating the cost of replacing the temporary bamboo bridge at Swarupnagar.