Trade between India and Bangladesh using inland waterways is expected to get a boost by the middle of this year when heavy cargo ships from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Haldia in West Bengal sail to Pandu port in Assam through the neighbouring country.
This was indicated by India’s Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal yesterday during an interaction with the media in Guwahati, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
Sonowal said dredging work at critical junctures in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers has already been initiated by his ministry to facilitate the movement of large cargo ships.
The Bangladesh government, with support from the Indian government, is working on a stretch of the Jamuna river to make the 2,000km llong waterway from Sadiya in Assam to Haldia in West Bengal through the neighbouring nation, a smooth passage, he said.
“We are working to connect (Indian states of) Mizoram, Tripura, and Assam to three strategic ports — Sittwe in Myanmar and Mongla and Chattogram in Bangladesh,” the Minister said.
“By mid-2022, I am hopeful that cargo ships of 2,000 metric tonnes from Haldia and Varanasi will start sailing to Pandu. This is going to be a major boost to trade and industry of the North-eastern region,” Sonowal said.
Source: TREND News Agency