AGARTALA, August 11 (TIWN): A highway truck carrying foodgrains from Ashuganj port in Bangladesh to the Akhaura International Check Post (ICP) near Agartala on Monday met accident at Chanmari in Bhallukiatilla area, some 6 Km from Agartala city, official sources said. The accident stalled the entire transport process of foodgrains for a few hours.

One of the twenty Bangladeshi truck (Dhaka Metro T 16-1718) that carried foodgrains from five ships harboured at Ashuganj port in Bangladesh till the Akhaura International Check Post (ICP) today met accident after the driver lost control. Onlookers said that the vehicle was speeding and apparently lost control on a curve.

A duty official from New Capital Complex police station said that driver of the vehicle Mr. Suman was recovered by police personnel who rushed to the spot shortly after the incident. He was shifted to GB Hospital for treatment. Police picket was deployed to stop miscreants from tampering with the cargo lying with the truck.

The injured trucker was later stated to be out of control by the GB Hospital authorities. He suffered head injuries but his situation is currently under control; there is no danger, a medical officer on duty said.

A senior official of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) said later this afternoon that 340 bags of rice were loaded onto each truck that carried the foodgrains from Ashuganj port till Akhaura check-post. Custom and FCI officials were engaged to carry the rice directly to the FCI godown at Nandannagar in the outskirts of Agartala this afternoon, he said.

The official added that foodgrain transportation resumed shortly after the incident.

Foodgrains that came with the first consignment of the 5,000 MT rice cargo from Kakinada of Andhra Pradesh till Bangladesh’s Ashuganj port is being transported to Tripura via roadways. The second shipment of 5,000 MT is currently moving for Diamond Harbour from Vishakhapatnam, to be further tramsported to Ashuganj. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) sanctioned transportation of the foodgrain cargo of 10,000 MT for Tripura through Bangladesh as an experimental move ahead of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) mega block scheduled to start from October 01 this year.