Bangladesh set to give India transit rights
Bangladesh is considering allowing New Delhi to use its territory to carry goods to the northeastern Indian state of Tripura as a test case, giving a positive nod to India's requests for transit, officials said.
Officials of the Foreign Affairs, Shipping and Communications Ministries said here they want to see how the decision would be implemented and how it could benefit both the neighbours, according to a news agency.
"We consider allowing India transit once as a test case and its result will decide the fate of other proposals floated earlier by New Delhi," said a senior official involved in the process.
Officials said once the decision of giving transit to India for heavy equipment through Ashuganj Port is made, Bangladesh would then move with other proposals for transit of various modes for the next-door neighbour. New Delhi in September agreed to provide Dhaka with connectivity to the land-locked Nepal and Bhutan in exchange for access to Bangladesh's Ashuganj port.
Dhaka, during a meeting between Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni, and her Indian counterpart SM Krishna in New Delhi on September 8, agreed to allow India to use the Bangladesh territory to carry heavy equipment for a power plant at Palatan in Tripura through the Ashuganj port and use the Akhaura-Agartala road.
The two countries are scheduled to sign a deal on India's access to the Ashuganj Port in May 2010.
The issue of transit will come up when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina holds talks with her Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi later this year.
"As it did on other occasions, New Delhi will again ask Dhaka for connectivity to its north-eastern states through the Bangladesh territory," the source said.
As the country has decided to get connected to the Asian highway network, Bangladesh will request India to divert the route of the Asian Highway through the Aushtagram border, instead of connection through Myanmar.
Bangladesh does not have any arrangement or talks to have direct access to Myanmar to connect to the Asian highway, the source added.
The country has hardly any scope to directly enter Myanmar if and when Dhaka joins the Asian Highway Network in keeping with its already identified and primarily agreed routes connecting India from both sides of the Bangladesh territory.
The three proposed Asian highway network routes are Benapole to Tamabil via Jessore, Dhaka, Kachpur and Sylhet; Banglabandha to Tamabil via Hatikumrul, Dhaka, Kachpur and Sylhet; and Mongla to Myanmar via Jessore, Hatikumrul, Dhaka, Kachpur, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Teknaf.
Asked whether the government will accept India's proposal for infrastructure development for the transit, an official said, without any elaboration, that New Delhi had expressed its willingness to develop Bangladesh's transport network.
The official said, (Indian authorities) have not made any offer of financial packages of benefits when they offered to invest in building the required infrastructures.
New Delhi has for long been pressing for a transit route through the Bangladesh territory to carry goods from one part of India to another and has offered to invest in transport infrastructures in Bangladesh.
Foreign policy experts, however, feel that allowing India to build infrastructure in Bangladesh for transit might invite New Delhi's unwarranted control over the transport system here and suggest the country should rather mobilise its own resources to invest in road, railway and port development.
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