AGARTALA, July 4 (TIWN): As there is no other means of transportation of goods to the state with the collapse of NH44 and halt of freight train service, the Tripura government have now opted for transportation of goods through the Guwahati-Dawki-Dharmanagar route and Bangladesh's Ashuganj river port which will further develop the transit facility between India and Bangladesh.With Tripura remaining cut-off from the rest of the country for more than a month, efforts are on to transport foodgrains and fuel to the northeastern state through Bangladesh, a minister said here on Sunday."The Food Corporation of India and Indian Oil Corporation have taken steps to transport foodgrains, petrol and diesel through Bangladesh. For this, the Guwahati-Dawki-Dharmanagar route and Bangladesh's Ashuganj river port would be used.For over a month supply of essential commodities has been hit after the National Highway (NH-44) was badly damaged due to rain and water-logging.

With the collapse of Nh44 along with NHC (alternative highway) the state is now totally disconnected from rest of the part of the country which might provoke a crisis of essential commodities in the state.

No respite from the crippled NH44 as there is no improvement in the road condition in Assam's Karimganj district which has been washed away in torrential rains around half a month back and the repairing work is very slow. Hundreds of vehicles are still stranded in both sides.

The NH44 and now NHC has literally turned into a paddy field as the black top has been washed away in torrential rain and which has totally ceased movement of vehicle entering and moving out of Tripura.

The 630-km-long NH-44 is the only one that links Tripura by road with the rest of India via Shillong and Guwahati.

Other than taking any steps to curb the problem of petrol crisis, the Tripura government has blamed the Centre for the "pitiable state of National Highway 44" linking Tripura with the rest of the country through Assam, Meghalaya and north Bengal.

A 22-km stretch of the highway between Patharkandi in Karimganj district of Assam and Churaibari in the state has remained virtually unusable due to lack of timely repair.

On the one hand the authority says that the maintenance continues round the clock in the year, question arises if maintenance is carried out in the entire year why splash of rain disrupts the traffic movement in the NH44.