Meeting on Agartala-Akhaura railway link project on Oct 29

Agartala: The External Affairs Ministry has called a meeting of the fourth inter-ministerial steering committee, officials of the Railway Board and other ministries to discuss the pending issues of Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) railway line project on October 29.

"Many pending issues relating to the Agartala-Akhaura railway track including funding will be discussed in the meeting to be held on Wednesday in Delhi and a modified detailed project report will be prepared," Tripura transport secretary Samarjit Bhowmick told reporters here today.

Bhowmick, who would also participate in the meeting, said Rs 302 crore would be required to acquire 100 acres of land in the Indian side to lay the tracks.

The 15-km-long Agartala-Akhaura railway route would connect Indian Railways with the Bangladesh Railways through the North-East which would improve connectivity and boost trade between the two countries.

The entire cost of the project is being borne by India and the project would be implemented by the Northeast Frontier Railway.

This project was approved by an agreement signed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in January, 2010 in Delhi.

The 1,700 km distance between Agartala and Kolkata through would be reduced to 350 km if passengers from here could move through Bangladesh.