Centre Mulls to Connect Tripura with Bangladesh from 3 Sides
Railway ministry is exploring all possible way to connect Tripura with Bangladesh in three sides; this was disclosed by Minister of state for Railways, Rajen Gohain.
“We have a sanctioned project to connect state capital Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh. We are now exploring the possibility of connecting Belonia, the southernmost town in Tripura with Chittagong Port of Bangladesh through Feni district of the neighbouring country,” informed Gohain, adding, “The another route is to connect another southernmost town, Sabroom with Chittagong port.”
Gohain meanwhile met Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Governor Tathagata Roy separately. During the interaction both of them has urged Gohain to expedite the ongoing railway projects in the state. “Both CM and governor have requested to introduce Rajdhani express from Agartala and the ministry is also trying to introduce the train, but did not fix up any time frame for it.”
The process of laying the 15.054 km long railway tracks to connect Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh will be completed in two years “Of the total 15 km long track, a stretch of five km will be on the Indian side and the rest in Bangladesh. The project would be completed in two years,” he assured, adding, “The total project cost, Rs 972.52 crore, would be borne by the government of India. Indian side was being funded by DoNER Northeastern Region while the MEA is financing it for the Bangladesh side.”
The minister further added that acquisition of lands on the Indian side has already been started and likely to be completed by May this year, however acquisition land in Bangladesh side is likely to be completed by July this year. “Constructions for laying railway tracks would be started immediately after acquisition of lands in both sides.”
Tripura government also demanded to bring the state in the Trans-Asian railway map. In this regard, railway ministry has kept all the proposals of the state government but the ministry is yet to fix up any target for the trans-Asian railway or connecting the two southernmost towns with Chittagong.
“New Delhi is keen to establish the rail link which will connect West Bengal and Tripura through Bangladesh. The Agartala-Akhaura railway route will connect Indian railways with Bangladesh railways for improving connectivity and boosting trade between the two countries,” he shared.
https://www.northeasttoday.in/centre-mulls-to-connect-tripura-with-bangladesh-from-3-sides/
India to conduct survey for new rail line to Bangladesh
The Railway Ministry is exploring the possibility of connecting Tripura with Bangladesh from three sides, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said on Thursday.
New Delhi will carry out a survey to lay one more new railway line between India and Bangladesh to access the Chittagong international sea port and ease connectivity with the landlocked northeast region, a minister said.
“Indian railway would soon conduct a survey to obtain basic details to lay a 125-km new railway line from southern Tripura’s border town Belonia to Chittagong international sea port in (southeast) Bangladesh,” Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain told reporters.
“Of the 125-km line, five km falls in India and the rest in Bangladesh. The proposed railway line via (Bangladesh’s) Feni town aims to access the Chittagong international sea port for the benefit of the mountainous northeast India,” Gohain said.
After meeting Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, the minister said New Delhi is now in consultation with Bangladesh to finalise the modalities of the survey.
The Belonia-Chittagong proposed railway line would be the second railway project in northeast India connecting Bangladesh after the Agartala-Akhaura railway line.
The minister, who came here on Wednesday and visited various under-construction railway projects in Tripura, said the actual work for the 15-km-long Agartala-Akhaura railway line would start from May this year and would be completed within 30 months.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Bangladesh Rail Minister Majibul Haque jointly laid the foundation stone here on July 31 last year for the Rs 973-crore Agartala-Akhaura railway project.
Gohain said the government-owned Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the 5-km railway track on the Indian side (in Tripura) while the remaining 10 km on the Bangladesh side would be laid by the Bangladesh railway.
However, IRCON would be project management consultant of the Bangladesh railway board.
The minister said the 1,613-km mountainous distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri-Kishanganj (Bihar)-Malda would be reduced to 514 km through Bangladesh once the Agartala-Akhaura rail track is established.
Currently, India and Bangladesh have four rail links with West Bengal.
According to the official, 123.5 acres of land, including 56.5 acres in India, will be acquired to execute the project to facilitate carriage of goods to and from both countries.
The Agartala-Akhaura railway project, which was sanctioned in the 2012-13 railway budget, would be part of the Trans-Asian Railway network and provide a much shorter connectivity from northeastern states to Kolkata via Bangladesh.
The Indian government would bear the entire expenditure of the project, which also figured during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during his visit to Dhaka in June 2015.
Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) General Manager (Construction) H.K. Jaggi said the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Ministry has released funds to the Tripura government to acquire land in Tripura and the land acquisition would be completed by April.
“The land acquisition would also be completed in Bangladesh by July this year,” said Jaggi, who accompanied the minister.
The existing railway line from Guwahati passes through Lumding in Nagaon district (in central Assam) and southern Assam connecting Agartala and parts of Manipur and Mizoram with the rest of the country.
Gohain said New Delhi was keen to establish the Railway link which will connect West Bengal and Tripura through Bangladesh.
The Agartala-Akhaura railway route will connect Indian Railways with Bangladesh Railways to improve connectivity and boost trade between the two countries.
The neighbouring country had agreed to lay the tracks between Akhaura and Agartala during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010. (Agencies)
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2017/03/24/india-to-conduct-survey-for-new-rail-line-to-bangladesh/
Tripura people should be given a referendum to choose whether they want to join Bangladesh.If Sikkim can join India through referendum(according to bharat!) then why Tripura people can't choose their destiny?
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12 Bangladeshis try to rob Tripura village, one lynched
A Bangladeshi security man was lynched and another detained when 12 intruders attempted a robbery in Tripura, police said on Thursday.
“Twelve Bangladeshis comprising eight Griha Rakshi Bahini personnel (equivalent of Indian Home Guards), two government employees and two civilians illegally crossed the India-Bangladesh border and tried to rob Indian villagers on Wednesday night,” said South Tripura district’s superintendent of police Tapan Debbarma.
“When the villagers jointly hit back, the trespassers fled. However, a personnel of Griha Rakshi Bahini, identified as Nausad Mia, 62, died on the spot while another was injured in the retaliatory attack. The injured was later shifted to the government hospital by the police,” he added.
The incident occurred at Siddhinagar village under the jurisdiction of Puran Rajbari police station in southern Tripura along the Bangladesh border.
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Around 12 Muslim families comprising 80 people have been residing in the village outside the border fencing.
The police officer said the Bangladeshis came into Indian territory in two auto-rickshaws and fled on the vehicles when the villagers chased them.
Border Security Force (BSF) and police officers, along with reinforcements, have been camping in the tension ridden areas, 135 km south of here.
Tripura shares an 856 km border with Bangladesh a portion of which is still unfenced.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...one-lynched/story-om5U0DHau8fazoI5rdpKiI.html
