By Firstdespatch Desk Aug 17, 2022
Agartala, Aug 17 (FD) The land locked Tripura, which is surrounded by Bangladesh in three sides and share 856 km long border, which is 85% of its total border is maintaining a better connectivity with the rest of the country by using the soil of the neighbouring country.
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik on Tuesday received a consignment in Tripura's Sepahijala district as part of a trial run for cargo movement from Kolkata to northeast via Bangladesh's Mongla port.
The shipment arrived at Srimantapur land customs station in the district and would be transported to Assam's Silchar from there.
"Development of NE India, especially development of Tripura, is impossible without developing Bangladesh", Bhoumik said and urged both countries to work out formula to expand the scope of exporting more items to Bangladesh through Tripura
“A shipment reached Srimantapur LCS from Bangladesh today. It will be transported to Silchar later.
“This is an experimental cargo movement from Kolkata to Srimantapur via Mongla Port-Bibir Bazaar in Bangladesh. It has created a new scope for transportation of consignments. Once the system is regularised, several items could be transported to the northeastern states through Bangladesh," she said. Tripura’s Industries and Commerce Minister Santana Chakma and Indian Assistant High Commissioner at Chittagong Dr Rajiv Ranjan were present at Srimangapur LCS for the arrival of the shipment.
The cargo movement from West Bengal's Kolkata port to the northeastern states of the country through the India-Bangladesh Protocol route will not only reduce transit cost and time but also help develop the economy.
An agreement and standard operating procedure on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for the movement of goods to and from India have been signed by the two countries.
“A consignment was successfully transported from Chittagong port to Akhura (Agartala) Integrated Check Post in 2020. This time, another shipment came from Kolkata to Srimantapur via Mongla port (Bangladesh) on an experimental basis and the process was smooth," Land Ports Authority of India, Agartala manager Debasish Nandi told re4porters.
He said this was a trial run undertaken before regularising the cargo movement on the route.
"The shipping ministry will prepare a final report on today's goods movement and discuss with its Bangladesh counterpart to regularise transportation 
of shipments for the northeast," he added.
Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for development, Union Minister Bhoumik said, "The PM has set the next 25 years as Amritkaal. This is the right time for development, this is the time for progress. All of us must work to develop our country as the number one country of the world".
She also said Indo-Bangla relations and ports between the countries have to be developed, adding that the Government of India has already allocated funds for developing Chittagong and Mongla ports of Bangladesh.
Tripura currently exports 25 listed items to Bangladesh through different ports, where there are separate port restrictions in individual ports. However, almost all items are allowed to be imported from Bangladesh, resulting in an highly imbalanced trade relation between the two countries.
Union minister Bhoumik today urged Assistant High Commissioners of both countries who joined the event at Sonamura to ensure that at least 50 items could be exported to Bangladesh through Tripura.
She also urged authorities to expedite revival of an existing Pre-Partition roadway between Srimantapur in Tripura and Bibirbazaar in Bangladesh. The union minister said people of Tripura would join Bangladesh Vijay Diwas in December this year and asked authorities of both countries to organize the event in necessary manner.
Currently, Tripura exports goods worth Rs. 30 crores to Bangladesh annually but imports materials worth Rs. 645 crores. After the floating jetty was launched at Sonamura for the riverine protocol route in July, 2020 Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb expressed hopes that with new transit routes, the state would be able to cut down on the trade deficit and export goods worth Rs. 400 crores and import goods worth Rs. 2000 crores in next one year.
Deb also predicted that Tripura would be able to export Rs. 1200 crores goods and import goods of Rs. 4200 crores within five years.
However, the heightened hopes are yet to be fulfilled as both nations continue to work out scopes of bilateral trade and commerce. FD JK