Agartala, Jan 18 (IANS) A 51-km four-lane road will be developed to enable carriage of people and material for northeast India via Bangladesh, a visiting Bangladeshi minister said here Sunday.
According to Bangladesh Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, the road, to be built as a jointly-funded project, will link Tripura's capital city of Agartala with Bangladesh's Ashuganj river port.
"Bangladesh has undertaken an ambitious Rs.1,608 crore project to develop the highways between Agartala and Ashuganj port," the minister told reporters, adding that "of the Rs.1,608 crore, Rs.1,578 crore would be provided by the Indian government to expand and improve the highways".
"The 51-km road would have four lanes to carry heavy cargo and passenger vehicles bound for Agartala and other northeastern states."
There is only a narrow land corridor connecting the northeastern region to the rest of India through Assam and West Bengal but this route passes through hilly terrain with steep gradients and multiple hairpin bends, making plying of vehicles -- especially loaded trucks -- very difficult.
Agartala via Guwahati is 1,650 km from Kolkata by road and 2,637 km from New Delhi. But the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about 350 km.
The minister, accompanied by Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran and other Bangladeshi officials, visited Agartala to review the road development project.
Quader also held a meeting with the Tripura Transport Minister Manik Dey here.
India has spent millions of rupees to develop the Ashuganj port over the Meghna river in eastern Bangladesh.
Carrying heavy machinery, goods and essentials from various parts of India and abroad to mountainous northeastern states via Bangladesh holds significance.
To meet the demands of Tripura, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) recently ferried 10,000 tonnes of rice in two phases from Visakhapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh via Bangladesh.
Several ships carried the rice from Visakhapatnam port to Kolkata port, then to Ashuganj port in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi trucks then ferried the rice to the FCI warehouses from Ashuganj port to Nandannagar near Agartala.
The Indian government is also holding talks with Bangladesh to transport another 35,000 tonnes of rice for Tripura via Bangladesh.
In 2012, Bangladesh allowed state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to ferry heavy machinery, turbines and over-dimensional cargoes through Ashuganj port for the 726 MW Palatana mega power project in southern Tripura.
The train services in Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam have been suspended from Oct 1, 2014 for track conversion -- from metre gauge to broad gauge -- work. This work, undertaken by the Northeast Frontier Railways, is scheduled to be completed by March 2016.
Man dies of suspected ebola in Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) A 35-year old man from Jodhpur, who had symptoms similar to those of Ebola virus disease, died Wednesday at the AIIMS hospital, officials said.The final report will confirm
PM Modi - Justice won after hanging Nirbhaya convicts
Today, in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case, the culprits were hanged after 7 years. On this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that justice has been done. It is of utmost importance to ensure the
PM visits Gujarat: Modi lays foundation stone for 3 projects in Kutch, says - 24 hours ready for the benefit of farmers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Gujarat on Tuesday. Here in Kutch, he also laid the foundation stone for the desalination plant, the country's largest solar project, and an automatic milk
National Anti-profiteering Authority: L'Oreal and India Bulls were caught in profiteering, both did not pass on the benefit of GST to the customers
The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) has found L'Oreal India and India Bulls Real Estate guilty of profiteering. Both the companies have not passed on the benefit of GST to the customers.
Will Aadhaar be mandatory, money will also have to be paid? Which 300 million people will be given the corona vaccine first, know the answer to every question
There is a strong possibility of the Corona vaccine coming to India early next year. Bharat Biotech may launch its Corona vaccine 'Covaxine' by February next year. Only after this announcement, the
Ranveer Singh: Ranveer Singh will create a stir at the box office by becoming 'Shaktimaan', knowing when the shooting of this film will start.
Actor Ranveer Singh, who started his career under the Yash Raj banner, is one of the hit stars of Bollywood today. He has given many hit films. In the coming days, he will be seen playing an important
Modi Wishes Saudi King Speedy Recovery
New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday wished speedy recovery to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.Modi spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Salman and enquired about the health of the
Entry tax imposed on Ghat for the first time in Varanasi: Rs 10 will have to be paid for sitting and roaming for 4 hours at Namo Ghat; SP-Congress protested
If you are a fan of walking and sitting on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, then get ready to lose your pockets. Smart City Company has implemented an entry token system at Namo Ghat (Window Ghat)
Modi asks MPs to defend land acquisition bill
New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday asked his party MPs to aggressively defend the land acquisition bill, saying it was pro-farmer, sources said.According to sources, the
PM Kisan Scheme: Government has given a big relief to the farmers, and extended the last date to complete the E-KYC process to 31 July
Giving relief to the farmers associated with PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, the government has given additional time to complete the e-KYC process. Actually, till now the last date to complete it was
