Sarbananda Sonowal
♦ Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on 5 March 2026 laid the foundation stones for four riverine lighthouses along the Brahmaputra River, marking the first time lighthouse infrastructure will be established on an inland waterway in the country. ♦ The foundation ceremony was held at Lachit Ghat and was organised jointly by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. ♦ The four lighthouses will be constructed at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat and Biswanath Ghat along the Brahmaputra River, which forms part of National Waterway 2. The project involves a total investment of around Rs.84 crore. ♦ Each lighthouse will be about 20 metres tall and will have a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8–10 nautical miles. The structures will be powered entirely by solar energy and equipped with weather observation sensors to support round-the-clock navigation.