Agartala: Former Chief Minister and lone Rajya Sabha MP from Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb on Wednesday urged the central government to make the Indo-Bangla Maitri Setu bridge built over Feni river in Sabroom functional as soon as possible.
Requesting the Ministry of External Affairs to resolve the existing bottlenecks preventing the progress in the project, he said, the Union government should initiate talks with the Bangladesh government and make sure that the bridge connecting Tripura’s Sabroom with Bangladesh is put to function as early as possible.
“If the movement of goods through Maitri Setu begins, Tripura as well as the whole Northeastern region will be highly benefited. Sabroom – located on the banks of Feni river – will be transformed into a centre of commercial activities for the whole Northeast, augmenting the employment generation possibilities in the state,” said Deb.
He said, on March 9, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the bridge. But the land customs station was supposed to come up on the Bangladesh side – a prerequisite to making the bridge fully equipped for the movement of cargo trucks and passengers – is still to be completed.
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“Even though so much money has been spent on the bridge to strengthen connectivity and friendship between India and Bangladesh, people could not get the benefits of the project. If the bridge comes into operation, Tripura will get direct access to the Mongla and Chittagong ports. The standard operating procedure for the route is also approved but for the slow-paced development in the Bangladesh side the real benefits are still elusive,” said Deb.
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