Govt to allow Indian container trains through Jamuna bridge
Bangladesh has almost completed its preparation to allow Indian container trains up to Gazipur, which borders on the capital.
The Bangladesh Railway director general, Belayet Hossain, on Tuesday told New Age they were working round-the-clock for the operation of Indian container trains till Gazipur, some 35km of the capital.
Bangladesh, which allows Indian good trains up to some areas in the north, is facing India's pressure to allow container trains up to Gazipur by crossing the Jamuna Bridge.
He said they would seek cabinet approval through the communications ministry after it would get the nod of a railway inspection body, which looks after the security of railway and railway services.
Dhaka, which has allowed passenger trains from India since 2008, was in the past opposed to Indian container trains crossing the Jamuna bridge for the safety of the bridge.
But the communications ministry has now found that movement of container trains on the bridge at a low speed would not cause any harm.
The communications minister, Abul Hossain, told New Age the bridge which developed cracks would not face any problems if containers trains would cross the bridge at a low speed. 'The Bangladesh Railway will monitor the speed.'
The communications ministry, which earlier mended the cracks, took initiatives to obtain compensation from the South Korean construction firm that built the 4.8km bridge between 1994 and 1998 at a cost of Tk 40 billion.
Delhi has for long been requesting Dhaka to allow Indian container trains through the bridge so that industrial goods and raw materials could directly be carried to Gazipur.
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, the immediate-past Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, when he signed the deal on passenger train services on April 10, 2008, hoped container train services could be put in place in future.
The communications minister said businessmen who imported products worth more than $2 billion from India every year would benefit from the movement of container trains as it would lower import costs.
Belayet said the Bangladesh Railway had sought clearance from the agencies concerned to allow Indian containers trains up to Gazipur by crossing the Jamuna bridge.
The agency known as the railway inspection body under the communications ministry, however, inquired about the container train services in details. Belayet said his organisation would answer the queries of the agency.
The communications ministry has planned to set up a dedicated railway bridge along the Jamuna Bridge for the movement of heavy container trains. Dhaka sought financial assistance from Delhi for the construction of the railway bridge.
Delhi proposed movement of container trains through the bridge in March 2007 at a meeting of railway officials of both the countries. The issue was taken up again in October 2007. http://www.newagebd.com/2009/dec/23/front.html |
