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Special Arrangement The construction of the railway line, which will become a lifeline for the north-east in Tripura has reached Bishalgarh in Sipahijala district, about 16 km south of Agartala. -
Special Arrangement Bangladesh trucks laden with cement and other goods cross over to India from the Akhaura border near Agartala.
Goods from neighbouring Bangladesh move freely in and out of State; trade and security are going hand in hand
The sight of Bangladeshi trucks laden with cement, stones, plastic and
other items entering Tripura through the Akhaura border near here
presents a picture of contrast in the backdrop of border fencing. For,
it reflects on how India wants to restrict illegal crossings from the
neighbouring country, but desires healthy trade with it.
In fact, trade and security are going hand in hand in the State. “Trucks
bring into India pebbles and cement, while carrying out items like
sugar and onions. An interesting aspect is that limestone is transported
from Meghalaya to Bangladesh and the cement manufactured there with it
is now more popular and cheaper in Tripura,” said a Tripura Tourism
official.
Pravin Agarwal, Director (Industries and Commerce) in the government of
Tripura, insists that the business environment in the State had been
improving due to fencing. “Till 4-5 years ago, there used to be
instances of businessmen being abducted and taken across the border. But
that has changed as the border fencing now covers nearly 740 km of the
865 km border that Tripura shares with Bangladesh.”
Business parks
In fact, Mr. Agarwal said Tripura was now setting up specialised
business parks around the theme of “bamboo” and “rubber” in areas not
very far from the Bangladesh border. “The problems of illegal entry are
at an all-time low. Those into business can easily cross over from the
designated borders and the atmosphere has generally become conducive for
trade and commerce.”
Concurring with this, Secretary (Tourism and Urban Development) in the
government of Tripura Ashutosh Jindal said the State was also pushing
for a road link to the Chittagong port in Bangladesh, which would
provide direct access to the Bay of Bengal.
Interacting with the media during a familiarisation tour organised by
the Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Development of the
North Eastern Region, Mr. Jindal said: “There is a plan to construct a
bridge over the Feni river in southern Tripura for providing
connectivity from Sabroom — about 135 km from Agartala — in India to
Ramgarh in Bangladesh.” The link up to Chittagong, which is about 75 km
from Sabroom, would help heavy machinery, such as turbines for power
plants, and goods reach north-east India with greater ease. The Indian
Railway Construction Company is learnt to have finalised the alignment
of the bridge in consultation with officials in Dhaka.
In January 2010, during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit
to India, it was agreed that Dhaka would allow its Mongla and Chittagong
sea ports for transportation of goods via rail and road.
The rail head in India has thus far reached Bishalgarh in Sipahijala district of Tripura, about 16 km south of Agartala.
Alignment finalised
On the Bangladesh side, there is a railway line that runs very close to
the India border and goes all the way down south. India has proposed a
13-km link between Agartala and Akhaura and the Indian Railway
Construction Company has finalised the alignment for it in consultation
with officials in Dhaka. In the proposed link, about 5.4 km would fall
within India.
Bus service
With a flight from Agartala to Kolkata still costing around five times
the amount it costs to cover the distance by bus via Dhaka, the Tripura
government is also working on improving the bus service through
Bangladesh to cut down on travel time. “At the moment, a passenger has
to change the bus at Dhaka and the total travel time is around 20 hours.
It can be reduced by at least four to five hours through necessary
initiatives,” said an official.
Incidentally, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, during a meeting with
President Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month, also demanded that the
connectivity between India and Bangladesh be improved.