Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Cargo shipped via Chittagong port reaches Tripura

By Correspondent

AGARTALA, July 23 - Tripura Chief Minister Biplap Kumar Deb today received the first goods consignment, which was shipped from the Haldia port in West Bengal to Agartala via the Chittagong port in Bangladesh, at the Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP) here. This development opens a new chapter in the Indo-Bangladesh maritime cooperation.

This has been made possible through the signing of the India-Bangladesh Coastal Agreement last month.

The new transhipment route � Haldia-Chittagoing-Akhaura-Agrartala � will not only benefit Tripura but also other North Eastern States, said the Chief Minister while speaking on the occasion.

Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for opening the Chittagong port to the North Eastern region of India, Deb said the consignment comprising four containers that came from Haldia to Agartala via the Chittagong port, has brought a lot of hope for the people of Tripura.

�The distance between Haldia and Agartala via Assam is 1,600 km, but the new coastal route of Haldia-Chittagong- Akhaura-Agrartala runs only 600 km. I have heard that the parties that have brought the four containers through the new coastal route have saved Rs 50,000. The new route will be more cost-effective once the Feni bridge is made operational. An amount of Rs 800 can be saved against one MT of goods,� he pointed out.

�Connectivity has got a major fillip during the past two years. Tripura is now well connected by rail and roads. Today, the State has received the first goods consignment by utilising transhipment facilities,� the Chief Minister said.

Deb said that due to heavy rain and steep rise in the water level of the Comilla (Bangladesh), the floating jetty at Srimantapur (Sonamura) could not be inaugurated, but it would be operational soon.

It may be noted that the cargo vessel had sailed from Haldia and headed towards Chittagong on July 19. On July 22, four containers ferried by the vessel were loaded in four trailers that reached Akhaura today.

Next Story