Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today sought establishment of an alternate transit route connecting Meghalaya and West Bengal via Bangladesh reducing the travelling distance between the two states.
At present the entire North Eastern states are connected through a 8 km-wide stretch of land in West Bengal's Siliguri, popularly known as the Chicken's Neck.
"The distance between Bangladesh and the hilly and western border of Meghalaya is just 100 km and with a transit through Bangladesh we can reach both sides of India," Sangma said after meeting Madhukar Gupta, chairman of the committee and members constituted by National Security Council Sectt (NSCS).
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"This can be for creating alternative connectivity both for rail and road," he said adding, the transit route can bring down the overall distance between the rest of the country and the North East.
The Committee discussed ways and means on how to strengthen border protection and address the issues of gaps and vulnerabilities in border fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
On improving bilateral ties with Bangladesh, Mukul proposed of supplying power to Bangladesh to promote business partnerships.
According to the Chief Minister, setting up of border haats is important from both the economic viewpoint and also from the security perspective to avoid anti-national elements from taking advantage of the economic stress at the border.
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