The trial run in the Sonamura-Daudkandi inland waterways protocol route will start in the first week of September, Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has said.
“Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has given permission for trial run of voyage from Daundkandi (Cumilla) to Sonamura via river Gomati,” chief minister Deb said in a tweet.
“The trial run is scheduled for the first week of September 2020, during which 50 MT cement will be transported in a barge from Dhaka to Sonamura. This is for the first time in history that any kind of goods will be reaching Tripura by vessel,” he said in the tweet.
The river was chosen for having sufficient water for movement of boats and small ships.
During the trial run of the Inland Waterway connecting Gomati in Tripura’s Sepahijala district with Meghna in Bangladesh , 50 MT cement will be transported in a barge from Dhaka to Sonamura.
This is the first time any kind of goods will be reaching Tripura by ship, said Deb.
The Sonamura-Daudkandi route was included in the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route that was signed by both High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and shipping secretary of Bangladesh Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury at Dhaka this May.