The Tripura government on Friday announced the completion of a floating jetty on river Gomati in Sonamura, ahead of the opening of the first international waterway in the State.
The Sonamura–Daudkandi route on the river Gomati was a part of the India-Bangladesh Protocol signed in Dhaka on May 20, 2019.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) built the jetty in Sonamura, 49 km south of Agartala, in just three weeks. It an handle medium-size cargo vessels.
Thanking the IWAI, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said, “Glad that Sonamura is now a custom port which will bring economic development to the northeast.”
The Chief Minister earlier hailed the agreement on extension of the waterway protocol between Indian and Bangladesh to open the 93-km route between Sonamura and Daudkhandi (Bangladesh).
As per protocol, vessels of both countries can move on the route and anchor at each other’s port. Export and import trade through the waterway would be comparatively cheaper than surface transport, business leaders have said.
