Infrastructure worth crores has become ineffectual due to situation in Bangladesh: Tripura minister

Agartala, Aug 24 (PTI) Infrastructure worth crores of rupees has become ineffectual due to the present situation in Bangladesh, Tripura's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said on Sunday.

Addressing a session of the Indian Building Congress's Tripura chapter, Chowdhury said there must be dialogue between the people of the two countries for peace and prosperity.

"Tripura is a landlocked state with Bangladesh as its neighbour. The present situation in Bangladesh is upsetting for us. We don't consider Bangladesh our enemy. We should not forget Bangladesh found a place in the global map as an independent nation because of India," he said.

"We must pray to god to bring back the good days because infrastructure worth crores at Sabroom (Maitri Setu) and Srimantapur (land port) has become ineffectual. There must be dialogue between the two sides for peace, prosperity and tranquillity," he added.

The Maitri Setu, built over the Feni river, connect the two sides of the international border. It provides access to Bangladesh's Chittagong Port, which is just 80 km from the border. The strategic Agartala-Akhaura rail line could not have been made operational because of the situation in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India M Riaz Hamidullah visited Tripura earlier this month and met Chief Minister Manik Saha.

He also visited the Maitri Setu and the Agartala-Akhaura railway line, raising hopes that the two projects would be made operational soon. PTI PS SOM