Bangladesh to provide transportation facilities
New chapter in Indo-Bangla relations

A new chapter in the Indo-Bangladesh relations was opened recently following Bangladesh’s decision to allow India ‘transportation facilities’ over its territory.The Bangladesh Government conveyed this decision to the Indian authorities in the recently concluded trade review talks.

The remote and backward North-Eastern part of India will be benefitted most by this decision. Because it has not only brighten the prospects for economic growth in the region, but also will help reduce the remoteness of this region considerably as moving goods and raw materials through Bangladesh will reduce distances as well as trasportation cost.For instance, following the decision of the Bangladesh Government, trade flow for the North-Eastern industry will now no longer be dependent on Calcutta or Vishakapatnam ports, as it can be routed through Chittagong port.

Similarly, a railway link between Calcutta and Agartala will now be possible as both the countries have agreed in principle to reopen the old Bongaon (West Bengal) and Jessore (Bangladesh) broad gauge railway line which was closed in 1965. After the reopening of this railway line, to connect Calcutta and Agartala, the only necessary thing will be to construct a 10 km railway line between Agartala and Akhaura (Bangladesh). This will make possible the movement of a fast train between Calcutta and Agartala.It may be mentioned here that at present persons from the mainland willing to visit Agartala or any other part of Tripura have to take the aerial route, because the land route is circuitous and time consuming.

"Transportion facility’ by Bangladesh was a long felt need of the Indian industries. This was articulated at the CII sponsored SAARC three nation summit in Dhaka last January. In that meeting, views were expressed that Indian traders should be given access to the Chittagong port as a precursor to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement which gets under way in the year 2000.The issue was also discussed in the Indo-Bangla Joint Economic Commission. The joint economic commission set the ball rolling for discussions aimed at arriving at comprehensive economic collaboration between the two countries based on tapping each other’s logistical advantages. The commission is also examining several leads like reducing tariff rates on a wide range of goods, establishing railway linkages, free flow of road traffic, improving telecommunication links and free border trade in local produce. The granting of ‘transportation facilities’ is an important landmark in that direction.

Bangladesh has also agreed to allow India five land routes to facilitate movement of passenger and freight through its territory. These are Haldibari-Chhilahati, Ghojadanga-Buromari, Barsora-Cherragaon, New Jalpaiguri-Tentulia and Jalabazar-Betuli-Fultala. Both the countries have also agreed to examine the possibility of operating Agartala-Akhaura and Barsora-Sansar route.The new agreement brings to focus the fact that trade is uppermost on the agenda of Indo-Bangla relations.Under Article 8 of the Trade Agreement signed between the the countries way back in 1980, it was agreed that "mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of waterways, roadways and railways for commerce and passage of goods between two places in one country through the territory of the other." But it was impossible to adopt the clause because of public posturing by the political parties of Bangladesh for fear of appearing too close to India.

It is interesting that the term was coined to replace the earlier ‘transit facilities’ as it is still a vexed issue in Bangladesh’s domestic politics. The former prime minister of that country and Bangaladesh National Party (BNP) chief Begum Khalida Zia had vehemently opposed ‘transit’ claiming that it would affect the sovereignty of the country.

Things started changing when Sheikh Hasina came to power. Under her leadership, Bangladesh is pushing hard for maximum economic collaboration with India. Her task was made easy when both the countries signed a treaty on sharing the Ganga water. Since then, the relations between both the countries are showing signs of improvement.The new agreement also brings down the curtains on two decades of mutual suspicion and animosity.