As India races ahead with highways and airports, a cleantech startup in Assam is taking a different route, back to the rivers. Akvotransiro Tech, based in Guwahati, is leading a quiet revolution in inland water transport (IWT) by building cutting-edge boats made from bamboo, a renewable and locally abundant material.
“In India, everyone is busy laying roads and building airports. But when it comes to boats, it's as if the river doesn’t exist,” says Ravi J. Deka, founder of Akvotransiro. “We have a blind spot when it comes to rivers,” he added.
Forgotten Highways
India’s vast river systems once served as key trade routes but have since been sidelined by land and air infrastructure. Nowhere is this decline more apparent than in Assam, where the Brahmaputra — one of the world’s largest rivers — remains largely untapped for modern transport.
Despite having over 1,500 locally built mechanised boats known as Bhutbhutis, most operate without formal oversight, safety standards, or proper infrastructure. By comparison, neighbouring West Bengal has nearly 12,000 such vessels.
It took two deadly boat accidents — one in North Guwahati (2017) and another in Majuli — to spur official action.
National Waterways: Big Promises, Mixed Results
Hopes were high in 2016 when the Indian government designated 106 rivers as National Waterways. But many turned out to be seasonal, shallow, or unnavigable.
“They relied on Google Maps — not hydrology,” says Deka. “Rivers like Luni and Tungabhadra were included, despite being unfit for year-round navigation.” Government reports later confirmed that more than 60% of the waterways were either non-viable or inactive.
The Brahmaputra’s Challenge
Despite its massive scale, the Brahmaputra’s gentle slope and heavy sediment load make it difficult to navigate. Its braided channels shift frequently, and the river’s shallow depth, less than 2.5 meters in many places, makes dredging expensive and often ineffective.
“Unlike Europe’s rivers, Indian rivers are largely monsoon-fed and unpredictable,” Deka explains. “You can’t just copy-paste Western solutions here.”
Reinventing the Riverboat
Akvotransiro began by studying Assam’s traditional boats, most of which are unsafe, overloaded, and ill-suited for modern needs. Fibreglass boats were too brittle and non-recyclable, iron ones too heavy and fuel-guzzling. Aluminium, while ideal, required advanced manufacturing facilities.
The breakthrough came with a fusion of old-world techniques and modern materials. Inspired by the “Stitch and Glue” method — a low-cost boatbuilding process developed in the UK in the 1950s- Deka’s team turned to Compressed Bamboo Mat Board (CBMB) as a sustainable alternative to marine plywood.
Introducing BambBateau
The result is BambBateau, a series of bamboo composite boats made from 85% bamboo, 10% polymer, and less than 5% fibreglass. Reinforced with epoxy and multi-axial fibreglass, the boats are as strong as fibreglass vessels but weigh a third as much and cost less than half.
CBMB, sourced and manufactured locally, outperformed plywood in strength, water resistance, and sustainability. Despite early manufacturing challenges — the material’s stiffness made it difficult to bend and join — the team developed a patent-pending method for construction.
The product range includes solo kayaks, canoes, and 18-passenger trimarans, all featuring foam-filled buoyancy chambers for enhanced safety. These boats could revolutionise flood relief, rural transport, and eco-tourism in the region, while creating a new market for engineered bamboo.
From Wind to Water
In another innovative leap, Akvotransiro is also repurposing discarded wind turbine blades to make catamaran hulls. The Wind2Water project — currently at the advanced prototype stage- tackles the growing problem of wind energy waste by turning it into durable, lightweight vessels for inland and coastal use.
“Clean mobility isn’t just about the fuel — it’s about the materials too,” says Deka.
Gaining Momentum
Though still bootstrapped, Akvotransiro’s efforts are earning recognition. The startup has been featured in national media and showcased at global events like the 15th World Bamboo Day in Chiang Mai and Momentum Northeast in Guwahati.
Support has come from institutional partners, including NECTAR (DST), IIT Guwahati’s Technology Innovation Hub, IIMCIP, and Goa-based Fiire Incubator. The team now faces a strategic decision: pursue venture capital to scale, or preserve their mission-driven focus.
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“Boats aren’t just for rivers. They’re for livelihoods, rescue operations, trade, and resilience,” says Deka. “If we can make water transport clean, safe, and local, we’re building more than boats, we’re building a new relationship with our rivers.”
Back to the Water
As India contends with growing congestion, carbon emissions, and climate vulnerability, startups like Akvotransiro offer a compelling case for rethinking mobility, not just in terms of speed and scale, but sustainability.
In flood-prone, ecologically sensitive regions like Assam, the future may not lie in concrete and steel, but in bamboo and water.
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