AGARTALA, July 26 (TIWN): The state government recently wrote to the Union Railway Ministry seekig revision of funds allocated for the Agartala-Akhaura rail project, official sources said. The 15 Km project was initially stated with an estimated cost of Rs. 250 crores on the Indian side. The project developed abnormal cost escalation due to excessive delays in completion, the source said adding the the initial estimates were largely erroneous as well. "We have got Rs. 205 crores allocated for land allocation in the Tripura segment. The entire project was devised with a cost estimate of Ra. 250 crores.

How is the entire work save land acquisition supposed to be completed within Ra. 45 crores?" the source quipped. Work for land acquisition and track laying in the proposed 15.054 Km Agartala-Akhaura international rail route is expected to start by January, 2015.

Land survey on the Indian side is complete; the work is nearing completion in the Bangladesh side as well. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) is expected to be submitted before concerned authorities by September this year. The project of 15.054 Km length would be built in meter gauge structure with facilities for Broad-Gauge service.

IRCON, a central government PSU, was entrusted with the responsibility to handle all operations of construction of the railway lines between Akhaura and Agartala over a distance of 15 Km – a project that would literally change the way bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh are defined today.

Sources inside IRCON said that over 4.5 Km land area out of the 5 Km stretch of rail-line required for the project in Tripura sector was demarcated. Acquisition is slated to commence shortly. The Government of India sanctioned a fund of Rs. 252 crores for the 15 Km rail-line project connecting Agartala railway station in India with Akhaura rail station via Gangasagar railway station in Bangladesh plying through Siddhi Ashram, Badharghat Martripalli and Charipara in the outskirts of Agartala city.

The rail line would be connected with its counterpart in Bangla through Nischintapur in the Indo-Bangla borderline.