BADARPUR, April 27 - A project to upgrade the terminal at the Badarpur Steamer Ghat in Karimganj district was formally launched by Union Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan recently.
In his address, Radhakrishnan said that at present, digging work in the Barak river from Ujangram in Cachar district to Bhanga in Badarpur under Karimganj district was going on under the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
So, for the development of the riverway, a modern terminal will be built at Badarpur at an estimated total expenditure of Rs 14.17 crore and another at Karimganj at an expenditure of Rs 21.59 crore, he said.
The Union Minister said the waterway will be connected up to Kolkata-Haldia in West Bengal, through Narayanganj, Khulna and Sirajganj of Bangladesh.
He said that the Bangladesh Government has assured all help and cooperation in this project.
He said the total cost of developing this waterway has been estimated be Rs 305.84 crore, of which 80 per cent will be given by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The development of the waterway will tremendously increase access to Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and the entire Barak Valley, as well as the other parts of the Northeast, the Union Minister said.
Two MLAs of the Barak Valley � Mihir Kanti Shom and Kishore Nath, senior BJP leader Dipak Dev, Karimganj Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Talukder, departmental officials, BJP leaders, workers and senior citizens of Badarpur were present at the event.
