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Road link snapped due to rains, Tripura increases bus frequency via Bangladesh
Tripura said the local Bangladesh mission has been asked to expedite visas for Indians to enable them to travel via Bangladesh
Tripura, which has been cut off from the rest of the country after stretches of the national highway in neighbouring Meghalaya collapsed due to landslides this week, said on Friday that four more buses are being deployed on the Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata route for people who need to travel out of the state.
The state government has also asked the civil aviation ministry to increase the frequency of flights to Agartala and requested the state-run Indian Oil Corporation to explore the option of ferrying fuel via Bangladesh.
India’s northeast region has received heavy rains over the past few days and the weather office has forecast very heavy to extremely heavy rain in the region for the next five days.
Already, multiple landslides in the region have already killed 11 people over the last three days in Assam and Meghalaya.
Tripura principal transport secretary LH Darlong said massive landslides have taken place at Lumshong in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills along national highway 6. The highway connects to Tripura via NH-8 which runs from Karimganj in Assam to Sabroom in Tripura.
“It means Tripura is cut off from the rest of the country via rail and road,” Darlong said.
The Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata bus service resumed on June 10 after a two-year-long break due to restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The bus operates every day except Fridays and covers the 500km distance from Agartala to Kolkata in 19 hours. The fare is ₹2,300.
Tripura and Bangladesh share a border stretching more than 850km with Bangladesh, some of it unfenced.
Darlong said the frequency of the Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata was being increased as an interim measure
“We have already requested Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner’s office in Agartala to expedite visas for Indian nationals who wish to travel via Akhaura Integrated Check Post here,” Darlong added.
On average, the Bangladesh mission receives about 500-600 applications every day for travel to Bangladesh.
The official added that chief minister Manik Saha has already approached Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to add more flights on Agartala-Guwahati, Agartala-Kolkata and Agartala-Delhi routes.
Food and Civil Supplies director Tapan Das said Meghalaya has been requested to restore the road connectivity as soon as possible because Tripura is dependent on essential supplies from other states.
“We have already requested the Indian Oil Corporation Limited to take supplies via Bangladesh if there is an emergency, “ said Das.
Currently, the state has enough petrol to last nine days, diesel for five days and LPG cylinders for 17 days. State godowns have 20 days of rice stock and private players have stocks that can last 17 days.
“The cumulative stock situation of other daily essential items including edible oil is for 118 days, salt for 50 days, sugar for 46 days, pulse and flour for 39 days each, onion for 38 days and potatoes for 35 days,” he said.
