AGARTALA, May 29 - If everything falls into place, goods-carrying small vessels will sail in the proposed Sonamura-Daudkandhi waterway by the next three to four months, said Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today.
A temporary jetty will come up at Srimantapur, a Land Customs Station (LCS) within this period to offload goods from vessels, he told media persons at Sonamura in Sepahijala district.
The Chief Minister was visiting areas in Sepahijala district in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the sidelines of the visit, Deb also visited the Srimantapur LCS. �I have already spoken to the Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, Sanjeev Ranjan, and he has assured me of setting up a temporary jetty by the next three months,� the Chief Minister said. Building a permanent jetty will take around three years.
Deb said that the State Government wants the waterway to become operational in the monsoon season as the water level in the Gomati river is high during the period. �But the increased water level of Daudkandhi may adversely impact the plan as there are 23 bridges on the Bangladesh side in which vessels may get stuck,� he pointed out.
According to the Chief Minister, the Union Shipping Ministry is contemplating on undertaking dredging works from Srimantapur to Daudkandhi to increase the water level for free movement of vessels during winter. According to a hydrographical survey conducted by the Inland Waterway Authority of India last year, dredging is required in some parts of a 93-km patch from Srimantapur to Daudkandhi (Bangladesh) to keep the waterway operational in most parts of the year.
Lately, the 93-km waterway from Sonamura to Daudkandhi has been declared as a protocol route, paving the way for its use by both India and Bangladesh. Sources said that Tripura would immensely benefit if the waterway is opened as it is likely to reduce transportation costs drastically. Some other North Eastern States will also stand to benefit from the waterway as they will be able to bring goods directly from Kolkata (Haldia).
A vessel will carry up to 50 MT of goods from Haldia to Sonamura via the Ashuganj port in Bangladesh.
