Agartala: Union Minister of Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal along with Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Wednesday inaugurated the School of Logistics, Communication, and Waterways to provide support for studies, research, training, and workshops to the traders and entrepreneurs of the region.
Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said, it will create a positive and favourable mindset of the stakeholders and act as a pot-boiling center for stepping forward works related to waterways smoothly and systematically for the businessmen, exporters, importers, local entrepreneurs, tour operators, medical practitioners, and carrying contractors of Northeast.
In the geographical vicinity of Tripura with the neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Armenia, and mainland states, the central government decided to make Tripura a gateway to Northeast India using the waterways of Bangladesh for the promotion of water transportation and tourism.
Chief Minister Dr Saha said there are seven major rivers in the state, rivers connected with the Meghna and Padma rivers in Bangladesh, and one can travel through waterways from Sonamura, Tripura to Kolkata, Patna, Allahabad, Varanasi, and Guwahati.
“Waterways were the only mode of connectivity and transportation during the pre-independence. But, after the independence and partition of the country, the importance of waterways has reduced and practically abandoned despite waterways being the cheapest mode of transportation for trade and tourism,” Dr Saha pointed out.
He said Prime Minister has developed infrastructure facilities of Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, Agartala have been upgraded to the level of the International Airport. Proposal for starting international flights from Agartala to Dhaka, Agartala to Chittagong, Agartala- Guwahati-Bangkok, and at this stage school of logistics will help for the development of the region.
The CM informed that proposals for the construction of a green field Airport at Kailashahar under Unakoti district and also proposed for the construction of Heliports were submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India for consideration. Initiatives have been taken up for the development of Inland water transport on the Gomati River through River Meghna.
The central government has already declared Sonamura (Tripura) to Daudkandi (Bangladesh) route has been declared as the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route. For the development of waterways on the Feni River (Sabroom), an automatic hydrographic survey has been conducted while a bathymetry survey on Muhuri, Khowai, and Manu Rivers has already been conducted, Dr Saha added.
The School for Logistics, Communication & Waterways is proposed to be set up under the State Institute of Public Administration & Rural Development (SIPARD). The thrust of the school lies in the potential growth of Tripura using logistics and connectivity avenues.
