A significant water transportation project on the Yamuna River is probably in the works for Uttar Pradesh. The goal is to immediately link the Kanpur-Bundelkhand area to Prayagraj, where the Ganga and Yamuna meet.

The estimated 248-kilometer water transit line would connect Panchnad in Kalpi, Jalaun district, with Prayagraj.

To incorporate the project in the Kanpur Region Integrated Development Authority (KRIDA), a letter has been written to the government.

As a result of the extension from Delhi to Bengal, there will be fewer cars on the road in the future, which would lower pollution and accidents. At the same time, there will be more opportunities for tourists.

In order to develop the industrial city of Kanpur as a large development area, a proposal was sent to the then-chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra on March 28, 2024, suggesting that goods be transported by waterway from Kalpi of Jalaun in Bundelkhand to Bhognipur and Hamirpur of Kanpur countryside and to Prayagraj via Ghatampur, Fatehpur, Chitrakoot, and Kaushambi on the Kanpur border. The Uttar Pradesh Water Transport Authority was still being formed at the time.

A High-Level Committee submits a recommendation to the government.
According to the most recent information, Neeraj Srivastava, the high-level development committee’s coordinator, has now written to the government to test the idea and advance water transportation by integrating it with KRIDA. This is based on the possibilities that were previously investigated following the creation of the Act and the authority’s regulations.

KRIDA will move more quickly since Divisional Commissioner K. Vijayendra Pandian has made it his passion project.

Kalpi of Jalaun in Jhansi and Bhognipur in Kanpur Dehat will serve as the hubs of the Kanpur division. The establishment of Kalpi Inland Waterways (Waterway Transport Port) is planned. Kalpi and Bhognipur are located on the Yamuna River and are ten kilometers apart. The largest road intersection in North India that links several states is Bhognipur.

Why may the initiative succeed?
The Yamuna, Chambal, Pahuj, Kwari, and Sindh rivers converge in Panchnad, which has an abundance of water and is a great choice for water transportation projects. Additionally, the Mandakini River in Chitrakoot, Betwa in Hamirpur, and Ken in Banda join in Yamuna.

The water flow is consistent throughout the year as a result of several regional rivers combining. The Ganga flows through Bihar with a large amount of water from Prayagraj to Bengal. As a result, canal transportation greatly benefits from it.

In what ways would the project be advantageous?
The building of a waterway transport port at Bhognipur would assist road traffic from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh, Purvanchal, Bihar, and Bengal.

This will conserve fuel and lessen the strain of large cars on the road. There will be fewer accidents and less smoke pollution. Transportation will gain from defense and industrial corridors in Jhansi, Chitrakoot, and Kanpur.