The project was completed within three months. Union Minister of State for Railways Mr. Manoj K Singh, who visited Tripura recently in this connection, said by 2020, all state capitals in the Northeast would be served by BG linkage. Tripura-based media reports suggested that faster movement of goods and passenger traffic between the NE and the rest of the country, a longstanding demand of the people, would soon become a reality. This would put an end to the feeling of ‘isolation’ among certain sections of the people in the region, which helped fuel the insurgency problem.

Meanwhile, governments of India and Bangladesh have decided to speed up the proposed construction of a 15 kilometres (kms) long rail link between Agartala and Akhaura (Bangladesh). The project had been approved in 2010, when an agreement was signed between Indian former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina.

However, owing to a surprising lack of coordination between the two governments, there was much delay. The cost of construction, estimated earlier at around Rs 271 crore, is expected to rise to Rs 575 crore. Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi is reportedly keen to ensure the completion of the work, according to reports.

On the Indian side, 5 kms of new line would be laid, some of it at an elevated level. India would bear the cost of completing the remaining 10 km long link to Akhaura. Tripura government sources were confident that once functional, the new connection would help the movement of passenger and freight between India and,(through Bangladesh and Myanmar) to Southeast Asia. And Tripura would become a crucial hub in the major regional connectivity.

One of the reasons for the delay was the difficulty of land acquisition on the Indian side. If the project had started in time, land acquisition involving 91 acres only, would have cost Rs 31 crore. Difficulties had been reported over the securing of agreement and co-operation of the local people. For some time, no funds could be allotted. These local problems have now been sorted out, according to official sources, but the cost of acquiring the land had risen to nearly Rs 200 crore.

The Indian Railways had earlier handled the major work of laying a dual gauge over 290 kms in Bangladesh, from Parbatipur to Jamtoli, at a cost of $68 million. Railway authorities have further decided to build a new line connecting Udaipur to Sabrum, in Tripura. The project is to be completed by 2017.

Officials indicated that during the next five years, to meet its development, maintenance, expansion costs and safety requirements, Indian Railways would require around Rs 85 lakh crore in the coming years. A major exercise was on in Delhi to ascertain how such major funds could be mobilised, in the background of an economic downturn in Europe, China, the Middle East, Russia and other parts of the world. (IPA Service)