TURA: The Joint Movement Committee on the Indo-Bangla Corridor has decided to pursue the matter with the governments of both countries and West Bengal and Meghalaya to make the road link a reality soon.
In a meeting held at Tura Circuit House on Saturday, the Committee members had a threadbare discussion on the development of an alternative highway alignment linking West Bengal and Bangladesh through Hili (West Bengal) and Mahendraganj in South West Garo Hills.
It may be mentioned that the Working Group on Improvement and Development of Transport Infrastructure in the North East under National Transport Development Policy Committee had strongly recommended the highway link in its report. Mahendraganj is the closest approach from Meghalaya to West Bengal with a distance of 100km.
Convener of the Joint Movement Committee Naba Kumar Das said the Corridor was initiated during the UPA government and the same is now being pursued with the present government, for which the Committee had already met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. Gadkari has supported the proposal and the Government of India has already released an amount of Rs 3,000 crore to Bangladesh for the purpose.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma wants the proposed route to become a trans-national business corridor for the North East region and is aggressively pursuing it with the hope that the link will bring a complete turnaround in the region’s economy.
Those present at the meeting unanimously supported the development of the trade link.
The meeting was chaired by Mahendraganj legislator Dikkanchi D. Shira and attended by Parliamentary Secretary for Home W.D Sangma, Retd. Joint Secretary of GHADC C.B Chetry and delegates from Bangladesh, West Bengal and Meghalaya, among others.
