Shyamhari Chakra
With arrival of the first vessel from Bangladesh at Sonamuri on Gomati river in Tripura today, a new chapter will begin in the bilateral bond between the two neighbouring nations.
The 90-kilometreroute waterway passes through India’s Gomati river and Meghna river of Bangladesh.
The trial run of the inland waterways protocol route between India and Bangladesh started on Thursday with a boat carrying 50 metric tonnes of cement from Bangladesh. Its final destination is Sonamura in Sepahijala district at a distance of 60 kilometres from Agartala, the capital city of Tripura.
This is for the first time that any kind of goods will be reaching Tripura by ship.
Of the 90-kilometre route, just 500 metres comes under Indian territory while the rest belongs to Bangladesh.
The ambitious plan includes dredging of the river-bed to enable easy movement of vessels from Sonamura to Ashuganj port in Bangladesh.
Gomati is a seasonal river that can remain operational during the monsoon months. Dredging will make it a round-the-year waterway.
According to Tripura Chief Minister chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, the project would boost Indo-Bangla bilateral trade, making Tripura a key trade hub in the northeast region. The export volume would increase from Rs-30 crores to Rs-400 crores while the state would import goods worth around Rs-2,000 crores annually, he has predicted.
Besides trade, the international waterway would boost tourism in both the countries, as per the experts of the project.
