Enhancing connectivity between India, Bangladesh via NE important: Centre

Enhancing comprehensive connectivity between India and Bangladesh through the North East is an important aspect of bilateral cooperation and significant progress has been made in recent years, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy said on Monday.

Reddy in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said rail and bus services between the two countries have resumed after the pandemic.

"Recently, Mitalee Express from New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka through Haldibari-Chilahati has started operating from 1st June, 2022. This is the third passenger rail service between India and Bangladesh. The ongoing Railway projects of "Agartala-Akhaura- Rail link" connecting Agartala (Tripura) with Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Construction of Mahisasan (India)-Zero Point (Bangladesh) new line shall also improve connectivity between the two countries," the minister said, as per a press statement from the Ministry of Development of North-East Region.

Construction of Maitri Setu on river Feni in Sabroom has been completed and Royal Maitri International Bus Services from Tripura to Kolkata via Bangladesh by Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) have started.

Further, an MoU for facilitating temporary transit of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) products through Bangladesh to India's North Eastern Region has been signed between Ministry of Road and Highways, Government of Bangladesh and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd on August 2.

The minister also said the proposal for developing a road link from Mahendraganj in Meghalaya to Hili in West Bengal through Bangladesh was raised with Bangladesh during the Virtual Summit held in December 2020, as well as during the Prime Minister's visit to Bangladesh in March, 2021.