'Developing border infrastructure can foster India-Bangladesh economic prosperity'
Agartala, Sep 2 : The economic prosperity of India and Bangladesh could be improved by developing border infrastructure and removing basic trade barriers, top politicians and experts said at a seminar here on Sunday.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who inaugurated the seminar, said the under-construction bridge over river Feni in southern Tripura would make easier the transportation of goods between the northeastern states and the rest of the world via the Chittagong sea port in Bangladesh.
The Haldia port near Kolkata is 1,220 km from Assam while the Chittagong international port is less than 70 km from Sabroom in Tripura, he said.
The Chief Minister promised that the bridge would be operational by December next year and accessing Chittagong port would become much easier.
The Agartala Press Club organised the seminar on "Strengthening Indo-Bangladesh relationship" and many experts and politicians from both the countries took part in the event.
"For the development of Tripura and other northeastern states, many construction materials can be imported from Bangladesh or can be transported via that country. The Bangladesh government will also earn huge revenue from these transportation businesses," the Chief Minister said.
Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank (its central bank) Atiur Rahman said the two countries in recent years had resolved decades old issues including exchange of 162 enclaves (Chhitmahals) and maritime boundaries.
"The friendly ties of the two neighbours and each other's economic prosperity could be further improved by developing border infrastructure and removing remaining barriers.
"However, India and Bangladesh are still facing three major challenges - political, infrastructural and regulatory. Bureaucracy is the main obstacle in making investment and speedy growth of trades," he said.
Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President, Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin urged the media for objective reporting on the issues relating to India and Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said she was keen to develop deeper ties with India and its northeast that sheltered over one crore people who fled Bangladesh during the 1971 liberation war.
"Bangladesh's increasing bilateral ties with India will continue to boost the economy of both the countries. The two neighbours are working in various sectors for mutual benefits. However, the visa norms should be further simplified."
The Agartala Press Club Secretary Pranab Sarkar and editor Subal Kumar Dey stressed on the need for more such interactions and sharing of views to eliminate the misconception over some issues.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
