A History of Assam c23.59

c23.59

In 1847 a steamer service on the Brahmaputra river was established by Government, but the boats ran only at uncertain intervals and they did not proceed beyond Gauhāti. Amongst the documents appended to Mill's Report is a petition by the Assam Company in which it is prayed that a regular service be established, running monthly as far as Gauhāti and, in alternate months, the whole way to Dibrugarh. Two private companies were afterwards formed for the purpose of navigating the Brahmaputra and, at a later date, the Surma river, but their steamers ran very irregularly, and were hampered in their movements by the large flats for goods which they towed, the loading and unloading of which often occasioned great delay at the different stations on the route. In 1883, aided by a government subsidy, the two companies established a service of daily steamers on the Brahmaputra river. This service has gradually been improved until, at the present time, the fleet consists of large, powerful and well-equipped boats, which perform the upward journey from Goalundo to Dibrugarh in less than a week, compared with the three weeks, or even longer, required by the old cargo steamers. A similar service was established on the Surma river in 1887.