“The Agartala-Akhaura worldwide railway link would boost socio-economic development of the mountainous northeast region”, he said at a function organised to lay the foundation stone of the rail project and to flag-off Agartala-Delhi passenger train service. “Kolkata is the cultural capital of the country and Tripura has a long historic connection with it”, he said.
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Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on Saturday laid the foundation for construction of the country’s longest railway tunnel in Manipur’s Tamenglong district and Imphal Railway Station in Imphal.
Referring to the problem of land acquisition for railway projects as people are generally reluctant to part with land, he said that the Agartala – Akhaura BG Rail Link has been planned to be an elevated line so that minimum land acquisition has to be done.
While the railway link would finally directly connect Agartala with Kolkata through Bangladesh, it would also help direct freight movement and exchange tourists between the two countries. Rs 968 crore was spent for the Agartala-Delhi rail link.
He said unless the railway line is extended the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop the North Eastern region will not be realised. We are committed to bring connectivity with Bangladesh. “The relation between India and Bangladesh is very cordial and they (Bangladesh) are cooperative in our initiative”, he said.
“Chittagong port is the best port in Asia. We want to connect Indian railways track with Chittagong port through Sabroom”. “Railway’s capital investment in the Northeastern region has been consistently increased and approximately Rs 7000 crore will be allocated for developmental projects in the region next year”, he said. Prabhu also said that although the intra-state railways is the responsibility of the state government, the Centre has been taking the responsibility for historical reasons. Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked me to convey our love and respect to the people of India.
While replying to another query on decongesting the traffic in local trains, the minister said, “For Mumbai, suburban railway is lifeline”.
Incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Revenue and PWD Minister Badal Choudhury among many other leaders were actively involved in these agitations.
The NFR is now laying broad-gauge track for the 112-km Agartala-Sabroom line by March 2018 and investing Rs 3,351 crore.
Of the total track, only 5km will be on the Indian side and the rest in Bangladesh.
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Speaking at the occasion, the Railway Minister said connectivity is the prime driver of development and the Railway Ministry would not spare any resources for bringing in speedy development of rail connectivity in the region.
