A year after its inauguration, Akhaura-Agartala twin-gauge railway remains inoperative, leaving the infrastructures indolent and delaying substandard-border commerce.
The railway modified into as soon as inaugurated on 1 November 2023, aiming to beef up commerce between Bangladesh and India but the educate services get yet to initiate up.
Gazala Parveen Ruhi, Akhaura upazila nirbahi officer, acknowledged, “The choice on when the trains will initiate running lies with the authorities. As soon as the contractor formally fingers over the mission, discussions will initiate up and a timeline will doubtless be situation by the authorities.”
The railway constructed exciting spherical Tk250 crore connects Gangasagar Railway Plight in Akhaura, Brahmanbaria, with Nichintapur in Agartala, India, spanning 12.24 kilometres, with 6.78 kilometres within Bangladesh. The Bangladesh share modified into as soon as constructed by Indian contractor Texmaco Rail and Engineering Miniature at a rate of Tk241 crore.
Though the mission modified into as soon as firstly anticipated to snatch one and a half of years, delays of over six years happened due to the the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges.
While the infrastructures are in put and trial runs were conducted, the official inauguration in November 2023 modified into as soon as marred by incomplete services, collectively with immigration and customs constructions, platforms, and rating entry to roads.
Despite a notification from the Nationwide Board of Revenue on 31 October 2023, permitting imports and exports thru the railway, commerce has now not yet started.
Texmaco’s mission supervisor Vishal Bakshi acknowledged constructing modified into as soon as accomplished in early November, 2023 and that preparations were underway for the handover. On the other hand, with no definite timeline for the launch of educate services, uncertainty surrounds the scheme forward for the mission, he added.
Native merchants get expressed concerns that Indian merchants may possibly well revenue the most from the railway.
The sleek route supplies a more ambiance pleasant and inexpensive scheme of transporting items to India’s northeastern states, which are at the moment served by more costly facet road and rail routes. This may possibly well also decrease exports from the Akhaura land port, with Indian merchants taking revenue of decrease transport fees, they acknowledged.
Rajib Bhuiyan, an importer-exporter at the Akhaura land port, acknowledged exports get already declined because of India’s ambiance pleasant internal transportation network.
Merchandise equivalent to rods and cement are exported to India, but with the railway’s opening, Tripura merchants will doubtless be in a put to pass these items more cheaply, doubtlessly undermining the land port’s export commerce.
Hasibul Hasan, president of the Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agent Association of the Akhaura land port, beneficial that whereas export commerce by the railway may possibly well also now not note critical boost, there is a possibility to elevate authorities revenue thru increased imports.
Lower transportation fees may possibly well also revenue companies, main to increased authorities revenues, he acknowledged.
