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India, Bangladesh agree on northeastern rail link
India, Bangladesh agree on northeastern rail link - khabarsouthasia.com
Just 20km of track restoring the pre-partition link between Akhaura and Agartala will be a linchpin for South Asian connectivity, and a huge boon for India's regional connectivity.
By K.R. Chowdhury for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka
April 16, 2013
In a recent move, Dhaka and Delhi have agreed to build a rail connection between Akhaura in Bangladesh and India's Tripura state, a link that would not only boost cross-border trade but also enable India to access its remote northeastern states far faster, via Bangladesh.
A member of India's Border Security Force (BSF) checks the documents of Dhaka-bound travellers at the check post in Agartala, capital of northeastern Tripura state, in February 2009. Bangladesh and India have agreed to build a vital rail link between Akhaura, Bangladesh and Agartala. [AFP]
Abul Kalam Azad, secretary to Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance, and Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pankaj Saran, signed a pact February 16th to build a 20km track between Akhaura, a major rail hub in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh, and Agartala, the capital of Tripura state.
Under the deal, Delhi would provide over $60.3m in aid for the project, expected to be completed in two years. At present, there is only one rail link between India and Bangladesh, between Dhaka and Kolkata.
"The process is under way to form a joint committee to select vendors for the project," Amzad Hossain, Bangladesh Railway additional director general told Khabar South Asia.
"We have got the Indian nomination for the committee; we will start working soon. Hopefully, we can finish the project in the next two years."
Opening markets, boosting development
The current absence of a rail line from Bangladesh to the "Seven Sisters", the seven states of India's northeast, forces India to carry cargo 1,500km through the Siliguri corridor known as "Chicken Neck".
Prior to partition in 1947, Akhaura and Agartala were connected, serving as a major link between Chittagong port and Tripura. After the conflict, Akhaura fell to East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and Agartala became part of India.
"Any communication link--either road or rail--opens up business opportunities," said Sheikh Afil Uddin, director of the Akij Group company SAF Industries Limited. "So, the Akhaura-Agartala rail link will certainly widen up avenues for the businessmen of both Bangladesh and India."
Humayun Kabir, a Bangladeshi diplomat who served as deputy high commissioner in Kolkata, told Khabar that India would "tremendously be benefitted" from the project.
"They can unload their products in the Chittagong port (from Kolkata or Mumbai) and carry to Agartala, which is connected with other six states," Kabir said. "It will reduce the cost of business. In the future it will also connect Bangladesh and India with Southeast Asia through the (Burma)-Thailand link."
Former Bangladesh Railway directory General T.A. Chowdhury told Khabar the project would fetch foreign currency for Bangladesh Railway to carry Indian cargo from Chittagong port to the landlocked northeastern states via Akhaura.
"At present, the Indian railway travels about 1,500 km to carry cargo to the Seven Sisters. If implemented, the Akhaura-Agartala rail link will reduce the distance to only 200 km," said Chowdhury, one of the negotiators for the project.
Delwar Hossain, a professor of International Relations at Dhaka University, told Khabar the rail link could be "one of the factors for greater integration of India as far as regional connectivity is concerned".
"Again, it will certainly increase business activities and development in its northeastern states," he said.
An Indian high commission statement said the new link will help promote trade and cross-border contact among people, and will open up new markets in the northeastern states for Bangladeshi goods. The link would also be vital for the Trans Asian Railway Network (TAR), of which both India and Bangladesh are members.
As part of TAR, India is already constructing a 350 km rail link from Jiribam in India to Moreh, Burma. Bangladesh can also benefit by using this connection, the statement said.
India, Bangladesh agree on northeastern rail link - khabarsouthasia.com
Just 20km of track restoring the pre-partition link between Akhaura and Agartala will be a linchpin for South Asian connectivity, and a huge boon for India's regional connectivity.
By K.R. Chowdhury for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka
April 16, 2013
In a recent move, Dhaka and Delhi have agreed to build a rail connection between Akhaura in Bangladesh and India's Tripura state, a link that would not only boost cross-border trade but also enable India to access its remote northeastern states far faster, via Bangladesh.
A member of India's Border Security Force (BSF) checks the documents of Dhaka-bound travellers at the check post in Agartala, capital of northeastern Tripura state, in February 2009. Bangladesh and India have agreed to build a vital rail link between Akhaura, Bangladesh and Agartala. [AFP]
Abul Kalam Azad, secretary to Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance, and Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pankaj Saran, signed a pact February 16th to build a 20km track between Akhaura, a major rail hub in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh, and Agartala, the capital of Tripura state.
Under the deal, Delhi would provide over $60.3m in aid for the project, expected to be completed in two years. At present, there is only one rail link between India and Bangladesh, between Dhaka and Kolkata.
"The process is under way to form a joint committee to select vendors for the project," Amzad Hossain, Bangladesh Railway additional director general told Khabar South Asia.
"We have got the Indian nomination for the committee; we will start working soon. Hopefully, we can finish the project in the next two years."
Opening markets, boosting development
The current absence of a rail line from Bangladesh to the "Seven Sisters", the seven states of India's northeast, forces India to carry cargo 1,500km through the Siliguri corridor known as "Chicken Neck".
Prior to partition in 1947, Akhaura and Agartala were connected, serving as a major link between Chittagong port and Tripura. After the conflict, Akhaura fell to East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and Agartala became part of India.
"Any communication link--either road or rail--opens up business opportunities," said Sheikh Afil Uddin, director of the Akij Group company SAF Industries Limited. "So, the Akhaura-Agartala rail link will certainly widen up avenues for the businessmen of both Bangladesh and India."
Humayun Kabir, a Bangladeshi diplomat who served as deputy high commissioner in Kolkata, told Khabar that India would "tremendously be benefitted" from the project.
"They can unload their products in the Chittagong port (from Kolkata or Mumbai) and carry to Agartala, which is connected with other six states," Kabir said. "It will reduce the cost of business. In the future it will also connect Bangladesh and India with Southeast Asia through the (Burma)-Thailand link."
Former Bangladesh Railway directory General T.A. Chowdhury told Khabar the project would fetch foreign currency for Bangladesh Railway to carry Indian cargo from Chittagong port to the landlocked northeastern states via Akhaura.
"At present, the Indian railway travels about 1,500 km to carry cargo to the Seven Sisters. If implemented, the Akhaura-Agartala rail link will reduce the distance to only 200 km," said Chowdhury, one of the negotiators for the project.
Delwar Hossain, a professor of International Relations at Dhaka University, told Khabar the rail link could be "one of the factors for greater integration of India as far as regional connectivity is concerned".
"Again, it will certainly increase business activities and development in its northeastern states," he said.
An Indian high commission statement said the new link will help promote trade and cross-border contact among people, and will open up new markets in the northeastern states for Bangladeshi goods. The link would also be vital for the Trans Asian Railway Network (TAR), of which both India and Bangladesh are members.
As part of TAR, India is already constructing a 350 km rail link from Jiribam in India to Moreh, Burma. Bangladesh can also benefit by using this connection, the statement said.
