Another consignment of rice today arrived here by using the water and roadways of Bangladesh as the train service to this north eastern state was closed for conversion of railway track from narrow gauge to broad gauge, official sources said.
Ten trucks from Bangladesh carried 17 tonnes of rice from Ashuganj port, 57 km from here today which were transported from Kolkata port earlier and Food Corporation of India (FCI) has arranged the ferrying of the food granules.
Altogether, in the first phase, 10,000 tonnes of rice would be brought from Kolkata to Tripura by using the Ashuganj port in Bangladesh.
Train services in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and southern part of Assam was closed for the gauge conversion which would be completed by the end of March 2016.
Tripura Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bhanulal Saha told reporters that FCI informed the state government that another consignment of 10,000 tonnes of rice would be carried for Tripura this week by using the same route to create a buffer stock before the monsoon.
The distance between Agartala and Kolkata is reduced from 1700 km to 650 km when travelled through Bangladesh.
