India is in a hurry to see that Bangladesh starts renovation and development works on Ashuganj-Akhaura road by the end of this monsoon, so that it can send some heavy consignments of power generation equipment to Tripura by early November.The Indian buck-up came in a recent joint meeting attended by officials from Bangladesh and India in Dhaka.
"We need the help from all departments concerned of Bangladesh government, so that we can transfer ODCs (Over Dimensional Cargo) from Kolkata port to Ashuganj by waterway and from there to Pallatana in Tripura state through Ashuganj-Akhaura road for setting up a 726MW power plant," Manash Saha, one of representatives of the India government told the meeting.
Bangladesh also went by the Indian wish, and the joint meeting asked the departments concerned to start development and reconstruction works of Ashuganj-Akhaura road immediately, so that it can carry 93 heavy consignments for India after the rainy season.
However, experts feel that it was easier said than done. "Completion of work on the said road may not happen so soon, as lots of work is still pending. Along with development of Ashuganj port, a huge amount of land will be required for making the road straight and wider. Lots of bridges and culverts have to be made or renovated for carrying heavy cargo loads," they said.The Bangladesh-India joint communiqué signed in January said that India would make the necessary investment for the purpose of ODCs' transfer. It also mentioned, "Contractors from both countries shall be eligible for the work."A foreign ministry official told The Independent that to date, there was no estimate how much money would be spent for to facilitate the transfer the ODCs.However, in a meeting on sub regional cooperation, presided by Prime Minister's Adviser Dr Moshiur Rahman in June, the estimated cost was put at Tk 25.50 crore to develop the route for transfer of the goods for power plant. The amount, however, excluded the expense of land requisitions.
In the joint meeting, the Indian representatives also stressed on the need to construct a jetty at Ashuganj.
The joint meeting also asked the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to ensure navigability of the river route from Bangladesh's border point Angtihara (Khulna) to Ashuganj and the altitude of bridges over the rivers on the way.
The meeting also asked Brahmanbaria district authority to take some measures during the ODCs' movement period, like stopping traffic movement and arranging security for the safety of ODCs. The meeting also asked Brahmanbaria district authorities to create conducive atmosphere by seeking help from the local people on the movement of ODCs.
They have also been asked to arrange watering in 16 different points of the road as the area might face water-logging due to 16 compacted earth bypasses to be made on the way to block the water-flow of the rivers and cannels passing the way.
After transferring the ODCs through the route, eventually the route would be used for transit to India, as Bangladesh has declared Ashuganj as the new transshipment point between the two countries on May 31.
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