AGARTALA, June 19 (TIWN): Adding another milestone in the relationhip between India and Bangladesh the first consignment of 1,000 MT corrugated iron sheets for Tripura reached Akhaura check post on Sunday evening. The consignment arrived in 4 trucks. However the trucks were received with huge enthusiasm at Akhaura check post. Consignment of 1005 tonnes of steel rods arrived on Sunday in Tripura from West Bengal through Bangladesh as part of revised 'Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol' between the two countries. It is to be mentioned here that a Bangladeshi ship carrying the consignment of 1,000 MT corrugated iron sheets for Tripura reached Ashuganj river port on Thursday. Reportedly, the consignment for Tripura has started from Kolkata on June 3 last using waterways for Ashuganj port, which is about 32 Kms from Agartala by road. This is the first commercial transit consignment sent for Tripura using Bangladesh. Anbis Development Ltd, a Bangladeshi operator, hired the ship to carry the goods from Kolkata to Ashuganj. Under the transit protocol, goods would be carried from Kolkata to Ashuganj through the river route and then from Ashuganj to Agartala, through a land route.

As per arrangement, the goods would be unloaded at Ashuganj port and then loaded onto Bangladeshi trucks, which cross the Indo-Bangla border in Akhaura.

The vehicles travelled by road to deliver the consignment to warehouses in India.

The transhipment fee for carrying goods is 192.25 per MT in Bangladeshi currency.

India and Bangladesh launched transshipment operations on Thursday last at the Ashuganj port for Tripura to boost trade and facilitate seamless movement of goods in the landlocked region, with a cargo vessel unloading the maiden consignment to be transported to Tripura through Bangladeshi territory.

Under a revised protocol on "Inland Water Transit and Trade" as part of a bilateral agreement signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka in June last year, India and Bangladesh agreed to let each other use their territories for transiting goods to a third country.

The deal would enable Bangladesh to use Indian territory to transport goods to Nepal and Bhutan while on the other hand India would access Myanmar by crossing through Bangladesh.

Under the arrangement, vessels carrying Indian cargos unloaded at Ashuganj port, from where Bangladeshi trucks carried the goods to Tripura and was delivered at the Akhaura checkpoint.

At present, trucks from Kolkata travel around 1,600 kilometres to reach Agartala. The distance through Bangladesh would be only 500 kilometres, according to experts.

The transshipment facility — combining riverine and land routes — would now enable India to deliver goods in an estimated 10-day time and reduce transport cost by nearly 50 per cent.