In a major boost to the water transport and connectivity Tripura government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) on Tuesday. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonwal, who had come here on Tuesday morning, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb , Transport Minister Pranajit Singha Roy were present during the signing of the MoU at State Guest House in presence of senior officials of both the union government and state government.
The MoU was signed to develop an Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Srimantapur in Sepahijala district.
About 25 crore rupees has been allotted from the central government for this, stated Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb while interacting with the media in a Mou signing programme for development and maintenance of Inland Water Transport Terminal (IWT) at Srimantapur near Sonamura, Tripura between Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) and Transport department, Government of Tripura. The MoU signing programme was held at the conference hall of State Guest House today. At the beginning of the programme, the officials of the concerned department signed the MoU and exchanged the agreement in presence of Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal and Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
While responding the media, the Chief Minister expressed, the development of the state’s infrastructure would be much easier if the waterway from Sonamura to Daudkandi in Bangladesh was opened on River Gomati. He said, it costs a lot to bring steel and cement to Tripura through Haldia port at present. In that case, if this waterway opens, the cost will be reduced to a great extent. Proposal has already been sent to the central government to further expand the waterway connectivity in the coming days by increasing the navigability of the River Howrah and River Deo in the state through dredging. With the opening of Chittagong port, Tripura will in fact become the gateway to the northeastern states through Maitri Setu bridge. The central and state government are working together in this direction. Several schemes are being implemented in the northeastern states under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this case, work is underway to complete the development work within definite time period.
Sonwal in his tweet said, ““ 10 new Jetties will be built on the Gomati river which will give more Gati to Indo-Bangladesh trade via waterways… Tripura holds huge potential in its waterways. We will conduct studies and hydrological survey on the other rivers of the state and depending on the feasibility, take further action to develop them.”
Transport and Tourism Minister Pranajit Singha Roy thanked Union Minister for allotting 24.83 crore rupees on behalf of the central government for dredging work on River Gomati. He also mentioned the great potential of tourism industry in Tripura. Other dignitaries present in the MoU signing programme were Chief Secretary Kumar Alok, member of Inland Waterways Authority of India (Technical) Ashutosh Gautam, Principal Secretary of Health department J. K Sinha, Principal Secretary of Transport department L. H Darlong, Director of NHM Sidharth Shiv Jaiswal, Director of Inland Waterways Authority of India A. Selva Kumar and other officials of concerned departments of central and state government.
Following the MoU Chief Minister took to his social media handle and wrote : “Under the guidance of Hon PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji, the double engine government is committed to the development of transportation facilities of the state. These newly developed transport routes will further strengthen #Tripura’s position as the gateway to the North East,”.
Sonowal in the meantime in a press meet highlighted the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the development of the Northeast region. He had earlier also spoke in details about the Prime Minister’s special emphasis for development of the North East region that was reflected in the budget. The Union Minister was speaking in a meeting related to Union budget- titled Atmanirbhar Aarthabebastha Budget 2022’.- with the NJP intellectuals and activists. BJP state president Dr Manik Saha was also present in the programme.
IN the press conference that was held at the BJP headquarters at Krishnanagar, Sonowal came down on the previous Congress-led governments for neglecting the region and keeping it backward.
“In the Congress regime, the NE region was totally neglected. It is our Prime Minister who laid special priority on the region for its development,” he said, adding that all the Northeast states including Tripura are now growing fast in all sectors.
