India will soon ask Bangladesh for new waterways with a view to facilitating the movement of goods and machinery between the two countries, reports Zee news.
"The proposed waterways between the north-eastern states of India and Bangladesh would boost the trade and economy between the two countries," a top central government official told a news agency, not wishing to be identified, said the report.
The waterways would be rivers with developed navigation facilities for smooth movement of vessels.
The official said: "India had earlier informally proposed to Bangladesh about the new waterways. The formal proposal would be officially submitted before the Bangladesh government soon."
India and Bangladesh share 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of reverine boundary. The two neighbours share 54 rivers, including eight rivers flowing from Tripura.
Tripura Transport Department Secretary Kishore Ambuly said that the state-owned Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) recently conducted a survey for the new waterways between India's Tripura state and Bangladesh.
"RITES has conducted the feasibility study to make new waterways between Tripura's Gomti and Howrah rivers and Bangladesh's Meghna and Titas rivers," Ambuly told a news agency.
He said: "RITES after an in-depth study for the proposed waterways has prepared a detailed project report and it was submitted before the Union Ministry of Shipping through the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)."
RITES, a mini-Ratna company under the railway ministry, has suggested a fund of Rs.47 crore for developing three waterways including navigation on the Gomti and Howrah rivers.
Tripura and other north-eastern states are surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China on three sides and the only land route access to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal. The lengthy route through Assam passes through hilly terrain with steep roads and multiple hairpin bends.
India has for long pressed for using pressed Bangladeshi for using its waterways and ports, especially for easy transport of Indian goods from Kolkata and other mainland cities to north-eastern states through that country.
