"In view of conversion of railway lines from metre gauge to broad gauge, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) would stop train services in Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam from October. In view of this, transportation of foodgrains and other essentials from different parts of the country to northeast India via Bangladesh is very vital," the minister added.
The eight northeastern states, including Sikkim, are largely dependent on the bigger states of India for foodgrain and essential commodities.
Surface connectivity is a key factor as the mountainous region is surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China, and the only land route to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal.
During the monsoon season, road transport becomes very difficult due to floods and landslides. For ferrying essentials, goods and heavy machinery from abroad and other parts of the country, India has for long been asking Bangladesh land, sea and rail access to the northeast.
Agartala via Guwahati, for instance, is 1,650 km from Kolkata and 2,637 km from New Delhi. The distance between the Tripura capital and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about 350 km.
The FCI would carry the foodgrain via Bangladesh in association with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
Indian and Bangladeshi waterways connect West Bengal and Assam. The IWAI and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) are operating vessels on these routes.
The two neighbours share 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of riverine boundary and also share 54 rivers, including eight rivers flowing from Tripura.
