Three-member team to visit B'desh for inland waterway project

Agartala: A joint delegation of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the Tripura government will be visiting Bangladesh this month to study the possibility of building a new waterway connecting the two countries, an official said Wednesday.

A three-member technical team, comprising two IWAI members and an engineer from the state water resource department, will carry out spot assessment at Daudkandi area in Comilla district of Bangladesh, Additional Transport Secretary Anindya Kumar Bhattacharya said.

The proposed waterway on rivers Gomati and Meghna will connect Ashuganj river port in eastern Bangladesh with Sonamura in Sipahijala district of Tripura, he told PTI.

"As a first step, dredging will have to be carried out on both sides (India and Bangladesh) to increase navigability of medium-sized vessels, which can carry at least 10 to 25 tonne of goods," Bhattacharya said.

Last month, a technical team of IWAI had visited the Sonamura to conduct a survey and decide on the possible location of a jetty for the project.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had also met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at New Delhi in December, seeking expedition of the project.

The waterway, once ready, will ease transportation of goods to Sonamura town of Tripura from Bangladesh, Deb had told reporters.