Citu seeks Tripura-Myanmar railway link to boost eco ties

Agartala: The CPM’s trade union, Citu, on Wednesday demanded taking forward the previously conceived railway connectivity project between Tripura and Myanmar to build a strong economic and trade circuit across Southeast Asian countries with the progress of the Tripura-Bangladesh rail link.The former transport minister of the Left Front government and veteran Citu leader, Manik Dey, said the then state government had in 2016 proposed train connectivity with Myanmar from Tripura via Mizoram considering the trade prospect in the region where Tripura would be the biggest beneficiary. But the plan had not progressed.“We had requested the Centre to construct a 257-km railway track between Jawaharnagar of Tripura’s Dhalai district to Kalay of Myanmar under the most ambitious trans-Asian railway connectivity, which would connect Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore,” Dey said.Besides, the state had a pre-Partition link with Comilla and Chittagong from Belonia and Sabroom of South Tripura respectively. The Bangladesh government has also sanctioned the project to convert metre gauge to broad gauge in the Indian territory along the border to allow access of Indian states to Chittagong seaport and Ashuganj river port. The Agartala (Tripura)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) railway is also expected to be completed very soon.