Agartala, December 23, 2022: In the winter session of Parliament, MP Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday raised the demand for the speedy completion of the inland waterway between Sonamura in Tripura and Daudkandi in Bangladesh.

In a special address, Deb drew the attention of the concerned ministry, demanded to start this water transport soon after the trial run by quickly resolving the obstacles identified in commercial shipping on this route and in discussion with the Government of Bangladesh.

As a result of Biplab Kumar Dev’s vision during his tenure as Chief Minister, the process of commercial water transportation of Bangladesh with Tripura was initiated for the first time. By this, it is possible to import and export goods at relatively low transport costs. As a result, the common citizens will benefit if the price of market goods decreases.

MP Deb said, for the successful management of this waterway, river dredging is also necessary in Bangladesh. At that time, with the permission of the Government of Bangladesh, the Government of India announced that the dredging work would also be carried out in Bangladesh. But it is said from the side of Bangladesh, they will do the dredging themselves. But till now the dredging work has not started in the part of Bangladesh. The waterway will not be operational until the dredging is completed. Therefore, he made a strong request to the Ministry of Shipping of the Government of India to discuss with the Government of Bangladesh to start the dredging work of the Sonamura-Daudkandi inland waterway.

A floating jetty was set up by the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, ahead of the trial. At present, the construction of permanent jetty is also going on at a fast pace. He expressed the hope that once commercial transport on this waterway starts, the commercial potential of Tripura and adjoining states, along with the hubs of economic activity in India and Bangladesh, will also increase.

It should be noted that this waterway is too shallow for large commercial vessels, so dredging is inevitable. In response to Biplab Kumar Deb’s request, the Prime Minister also directed the concerned ministry to connect this waterway to Tripura’s communication sector. Needless to say, if this waterway becomes fully functional, the commercial potential of Tripura will increase to a great extent.