Equipment from India arrives
Road route not ready yet to take those to power plant site
Vessels carrying heavy equipment for a power plant in Agartala of India arrive at the Ashuganj river port in Brahmanbaria. The transshipment of the equipment was agreed upon during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's last visit to India.
Two ships carrying eight heavy equipment for the proposed Palatana Power Plant in Indian state of Tripura have arrived at Ashuganj River Port from Kolkata. The equipment will be transshipped to the Tripura's state capital Agartala by Ashuganj-Akhaura road.
However, the transit will take some time, as the road and the terminal at Ashuganj port require some repair work to carry such heavy equipment, said Subon Kumar Sheel, supervisor of an Indian hydraulic excel trailer. Md Jahangir Alam, executive engineer of Brahmanbaria Roads and Highways, said 70 percent of the development work of Ashuganj-Akhaura road is complete. The work of finishing a diversion road is going on.
The two ships carrying the equipment reached the Ashuganj port on Wednesday and Saturday.Over 100 heavy equipment of power plant will be transported to Agartala from West Bengal through Ashuganj-Akhaura road. They will be first brought to Ashuganj by ships from Khidirpur of India. Ten 130-wheeler Indian hydraulic excel trailers, each having capacity to lift 400 tonnes at a time, will carry the equipment from Ashuganj port to Agartala under Indian supervision.
The transit will start after the deputy commissioner (DC) and the superintendent of police of Brahmanbaria visit the port along with the Akhaura Land Port customs officer, Indian sources said. Contacted, Brahmanbaria DC Md Abdul Mannan said an Indian team met him and informed him about the arrival of the ships at Ashuganj port, but he is yet to get any official order for their transit.
Foundation of the 4,500 crore rupee Palatana Power Plant was laid back in 2005 but a major roadblock had been the transport of heavy equipment from Kolkata to Tripura. The problem was solved when Bangladesh agreed to allow transshipment through an Indo-Bangla accord during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January last year.
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