The second consignment of rice dispatched from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh would reach here via Ashuganj port in Bangladesh, only 37 km from here, would reach Agartala on October 15.
"Five thousand tonnes of rice sent from Visakhapatnam port is now on the way and is likely to reach Ashuganj port on October 12. From there the grains would be transported by trucks to godowns here on October 15," Director, Food and Civil Supply, Soumitra Banerjee, told PTI.
The first consignment of five thousand tonnes of rice, had reached here in August from Andhra Pradesh, cutting down a distance of 1300 km, as Bangladesh allowed use of its river system and Ashuganj river port Brahmanbaria district.
The route was being used to shorten the distance and avoid hilly and zigzag roads in the north east, Banerjee said.
The distance between Agartala to Kolkata via Bangladesh is just 350 km which is 1700 km via Siliguri.
Banerjee said security measures would be stricter as one co-driver of a Bangaldeshi truck went missing after unloading the first consignment of grains at Nandannagar godown here, who could not be traced till today.
