On 27th October 2020, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport &Highways announced that the 1.8 kilometer Feni Bridge, the Reinforced Cement Concrete(RCC) bridge over the river Feni which connects Sabrum in Tripura, India and Ramgarh in Chittagong, Bangladesh will be completed by December 2020.
The announcement was made over a virtual event organised for laying foundation stone for 9 national highway projects in Tripura.
About Feni Bridge:
i.The Feni Bridge is being constructed by the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) at a cost of Rs.129 crore.
ii.An integrated check post is proposed to be established near Sabrum in Tripura.
Benefits:
i.The Bridge will facilitate transportation of goods from Chattogram and Kolkata ports.
ii.It will also improve the connectivity to the international borders with Bangladesh.
iii.This will reduce the distance with the nearest port from 2200 kilometer(km) – Haldia to 70 km – Chittagong.
Background:
i.Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Premier of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina jointly laid the foundation stone of the Feni Bridge in June 2015.
ii.The construction of the bridge began in 2017.
Other Initiative:
Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern REgion(DoNER) described Tripura as the gateway of “Act-East Policy” of the Government and stated that train service connecting Tripura and Bangladesh will commence soon.
This train service will mark a new chapter and create a new perspective of development of this region by providing entire region access to the seaports.
Recent Related News:
On July 31, 2020, as a part of the renovation of the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge/Setu over river Ganga in Bihar, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Nitin Jairam Gadkari virtually inaugurated its upstream carriageway. This means the two lanes are completed of the 4-lane bridge which is being renovated at a cost of Rs 1,742 crore. The online ceremony was presided over by Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar Nitish Kumar.
About Tripura:
Chief Minister– Biplab Kumar Deb
Governor– Ramesh Bais
Capital– Agartala
