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NEW DELHI: In a first, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will transport container cargo belonging to the food and beverage giant PepsiCo (India) from Kolkata to Varanasi on river Ganga (National Waterway-1).“It will be country’s first container movement on Inland Vessel post-independence scheduled on Tuesday,” the shipping ministry said in a statement. The food and Beverage giant will move 16 containers from Kolkata to VaranasiSecretary (Shipping) Gopal Krishna along with Chairman, IWAI Pravir Pandey and other senior Government officials will flag off the vessel carrying the consignment in the presence of PepsiCo representatives. The vessel MV RN Tagore will reach Varanasi in 9-10 days.“Container cargo transport comes with several inherent advantages. Even as it reduces the handling cost, allows easier modal shift, reduces pilferages and damage, it also enables cargo owners to reduce their carbon footprints,” the statement added.MV RN Tagore will make its return journey with fertilizers belonging to IFFCO that will be procured from its Phulpur plant near Allahabad.The government is developing NW-1 (River Ganga) under JMVP from Haldia to Varanasi (1390 Km) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs 5369 crore.Even as pilot movements on National Waterways are currently being done on various stretches, more than 15 of them have already been successfully completed, including integrated movements through NW-1 (Ganga), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route and NW-2 (Brahmaputra). Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier said that his ministry was working on a plan to convert more than 100 rivers into national waterways.