AGARTALA, August 17 (TIWN): After the Bangladesh government allowed transporting food grains to northeastern states of land-locked Tripura, Indian private companies now prefer to transport cargos like fertilizers and steel to the state using Bangladesh sea port. The Tata bodies recently sought transit from the Bangladesh government top transport the cargos to the stat from Kolkata. On yet another possibility of using the neighboring Bangladesh’s Ashuganj port, Tata steels and Tata Chemicals of the Indian private company seeing requirements to transport fertilizers and steels to Tripura capital city Agartala.Tripura government has been asking the central government to take all possible steps to ensure access to Bangladeshi ports to ferry men and material to and fro mountainous northeastern states and other parts of India via Bangladesh.The company wants to transport 30,000 tonnes of fertiliser of Tata Chemicals Ltd from Haldia port to Tripura through Indo-Bangla protocol route and had sought a transit permission from the Bangladesh government in this view.

They will require transhipment at Ashuganj into trucks and onward movement by road through the land customs stations at Akhaura or Agartala. However, it did not mention how much cargo it wants to carry this time.

According to the sources India wants to tranship goods through Ashuganj river port to feed its seven-sister states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Keeping this in view the sources added that it is not possible to give a decision on this issue from the ministry level but a policy decision from government high-ups will be sought.

India now wants to enjoy a permanent transit and transhipment arrangement to enter its remote states by crossing over Bangladesh territory. Indian vehicles need to travel 1,650 kilometres to transport goods from Kolkata to Agartala through Guwahati. However, they will have to travel only 350 kilometres if they go through Bangladesh's Ashuganj port.

It is to be mentioned here that in January this year, India was allowed transhipment of 25,000 tonnes of food-grains through Akhaura over to its north-eastern states. Earlier, during August-November last year, it transported 10,000 tonnes of food on what was termed humanitarian grounds.

In both the cases India was given waiver of duties and port charges as Bangladesh allowed the transhipment as a 'good gesture'. While allowing transportation of 25,000 tonnes of food-grains the Bangladesh government had decided that in case of next level of transhipment India would have to pay duties and charges.

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka endorsed their applications and forwarded to the ministry of shipping through foreign ministry for consideration. The MoS recently forwarded the applications to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) for its opinion.

However, Ashuganj river port along Meghna river in Bangladesh’s Comilla district is fast emerging as a saviour of landlocked Tripura in terms of transportation of essential commodities to the state from other parts of India across the water route of Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina jointly laid the foundation stone of the Feni river bridge on June 6during Modi's two-day Dhaka visit recently and currently the Indian government us preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for constructing the bridge.

However, the access to the B’desh Chittaging and Ashuganj sea port has come out to be crucial for the northeastern states of Tripura which sees possibility towards catering the needs of other northeastern states.