Two launches have been provided by the Assam government to ferry literary enthusiasts from Guwahati city to the 75th biannual conference venue of the Asam Sahitya Sabha being held at Sualkuchi in Kamrup district, a journey of one hour.

Talking to this correspondent, section assistant of the Assam government’s inland water transport department, Chandra Dutta, said, “We prepared two launches to ferry passengers from Guwahati to Sualkuchi. The launches left Guwahati port on Friday morning for Sualkuchi carrying approximately 20 passengers each.”

According to Dutta, each launch can ferry more than 200 passengers at a time. “Two launches will leave Guwahati port at 9.30am and 10.30am till the final day of the Sabha. It will return from Sualkuchi to Guwahati port at 2pm and 2.30pm respectively,” Dutta said.

“We are ferrying only passengers. No vehicle is allowed,” Dutta said.

Joydeep Deka, a resident of Narengi here, who turned back from Guwahati port and decided to visit the conference by road, said, “I thought my bike would be allowed on the ferry. However, after reaching the port I learnt that only passengers were allowed. So, I decided to go by road.”

Minakshi Kalita, who travelled on the ferry, said, “I would suggest going to the Sabha by road. Moreover, it takes double the time.”

Earlier, Sabha president Paramananda Rajbongshi said literary enthusiasts could enjoy the beauty of the sandbeds on either side of the Brahmaputra if they take the ferry.