The mood is upbeat at the Kolkata Port after the successful completion of trials for movement of cargo to the northeastern states using the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
Under this plan, cargo from the ports of Kolkata and Haldia will sail to ports in Bangladesh from where they will take the land route to states like Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. On their way back, the ships will carry goods from the northeastern states, both for export as well as the domestic market.
This will reduce dependence on the congested land route through the narrow chicken neck corridor that connects the northeastern states with the rest of the country. Use of the waterways will not only be faster and cheaper, but also eco-friendly.
The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP) in Kolkata has already started movement of cargo to and from Assam through National Waterways 1 and National Waterways 2.
On Monday, Samrat Rahi, Deputy Chairman, Kolkata Dock System (KDS), SMP, hailed the successful completion of cargo movement between Tamabil and Chittagong well ahead of schedule. Tamabil is in Sylhet, Bangladesh, and very close to Meghalaya. It has a Land Customs Station to facilitate the movement of goods between the two countries.
The successful trial along this route will enable ships from Kolkata and Haldia to berth at Chittagong. Cargo will then move by road to Tamabil, about 400 km away and then cross the border in Meghalaya. Similarly, goods from Meghalaya will take the return route back to Kolkata or Haldia.
"The other routes that were explored are between Mongla and Tamabil, Chittagong-Sheola and Mongla-Bibirbazar. We hope to put things in place by December," Rahi said.
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P.L. Haranadh, Chairman, SMP, also expressed his satisfaction at the development.
The Sheola Land Port is also in Sylhet and close to Karimganj, Assam. Its distance from Chittagong is about 390 km. Similarly, Bibirbazar is in the Comilla district of Bangladesh and close to Tripura. Bibirbazar is about 305 km from Mongla.
--IANS
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