Home Premium India-Bangladesh Connectivity Gets A Fillip

India-Bangladesh Connectivity Gets A Fillip

22
0
For the first time, the Indian Railways transported automobiles—a consignment of 51 vehicles—to Bangladesh last month. They arrived via Benapole after traversing 1407 kms.

July 27, 2020: Ten broad gauge locomotives flagged off to be handed over to Bangladesh to help handle the growing volumes of passenger and freight traffic between the two neighbours.

July 26: The first container train from India carrying FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) arrives at the Benapole railway station in Bangladesh, just across the border.

July 24: A consignment from Kolkata reaches Agartala via Chattogram Port in Bangladesh in the first trial run of a container ship from Kolkata to Bangladesh’s sea port.

July 13: A special parcel express train, the first between the two countries, carrying 384 tonnes of Andhra Pradesh’s famous dry red chillies from Guntur reaches Benapole in Bangladesh.

NEW DELHI: As the Covid-19 pandemic posed obstacles for India and Bangladesh to transporting goods via road, New Delhi has seized the day by boosting connectivity through the rail and sea routes.

The maritime route comes with the possibility of reducing travel time between the Indian mainland to its northeastern states by using Bangladesh for transit.

It was the logistical challenges presented by Covid-19 after the West Bengal government, afraid of the spread of the virus, halted the movement of cross-border cargo trucks at Petrapole that prompted New Delhi to explore alternatives.

India, cognizant of the inroads being made by China, has made a quiet but significant shift to transporting goods to Bangladesh via rail. Beginning early May, onions, tomatoes, garlic, etc were sent to Bangladesh through the rail route. This also ensured the supply chain was maintained during Ramzan. By July-end, 4.70 lakh tonnes of goods had been transported to Bangladesh by rail instead of road.

For India that shares a 4,096 km long border with Bangladesh, boosting connectivity isn’t merely a logistical exercise. “Connectivity is one of the cornerstones of our relationship,” as one official put it.

This explains the current thrust on the two sides working towards seamless rail and maritime connectivity. New Delhi hopes it will be a win-win situation. It’s also banking on some of these routes to connect with the northeastern states, thereby reducing dependence on the narrow Siliguri corridor.

But it won’t be a one-way street, with only India deriving the benefits, officials here are careful to point out. For, New Delhi’s clear in that its neighbour should reap the benefits of enhanced connectivity too. This would be in terms of employment generation in the transportation, logistics and insurance sectors. It’s expected that Indian companies too will invest in the logistics sector in Bangladesh once the maritime routes take off. Transshipment charges, administrative charges and document processing fee will be charged by the Bangladeshi side.

Bilateral trade is expected to get a boost too with better connectivity. It’s currently tilted in India’s favour—in 2019, Indian exports were worth US $9.21 billion while imports from Bangladesh were pegged at US $1.04 billion.

Bangladesh is part of China’s ambitious BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), with Beijing infusing huge amounts in that country to execute infrastructure projects in expressways, bridges and railway links, among others.

India knows it needs to up its game. That explains why India ensured the supply chains were not disrupted even during the pandemic. The focus on improving rail connectivity has meant that there’s been a 25 to 30 per cent jump in transportation of goods. Not only is this mode faster but also cheaper.

While India and Bangladesh decided to expand rail connectivity, the use of container and parcel trains, said an official, “means we are also looking at a cheaper, reliable and a more time-efficient mode of transportation”.

Further, said the official, “Parcel trains can carry smaller cargo in terms of tonnage so commodities from far flung states can reach Bangladesh and vice versa at a much less cost.”

“A rake can carry between 2,200 to 2,400 metric tonnes of commodities like onions. So onions exported to Bangladesh from Nasik will cost less if transported by train rather than by trucks,” said the official.

The parcel trains, which can carry between 400 and 500 metric tonnes, can be used to transport smaller cargo, as was the case when red chillies went from Andhra Pradesh to Bangladesh.

There is another reason for the impetus being given to rail connectivity. While New Delhi and Dhaka had, some time ago, decided to revive rail links operational before 1965, Covid-19 appears to have lent a sense of urgency to the decision.

Of the eight rail links that existed before the 1965 India-Pakistan war and went defunct thereafter, four have been restored while work is in progress to operationalize the remaining four.

Work on the crucial 15 km rail link between Agartala and Akhaura which will eventually bring connectivity between India’s northeast and West Bengal is on though progress is learnt to have been impacted due to the pandemic.

The first trial movement of containers from Kolkata to Agartala via the Chattogram port in Bangladesh began last month.

The month of July also saw the first trial container ship move from Kolkata to Chattogram port in Bangladesh, as the two sides explore multi-modal transport for connectivity. From Chattogram, the trans-shipment travelled onwards by road to Tripura and Assam.

The trial run is a vital part of India’s attempts to connect with its northeast via the maritime route using the Chattogram and Mongla ports of Bangladesh. “It can be an important cargo route from the mainland to the north-east,” said an official. StratNews Global reported on this on July 27.

Apart from the sea route, New Delhi and Dhaka are also working on improving connectivity via the inland waterways. The Second Addendum on Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between India and Bangladesh signed earlier this year is expected to boost connectivity too.

This protocol tried to facilitate movement on inland waterways by increasing the number of routes from 8 to 10, while enhancing the ports of call a vessel can make from 6 to 11. It’s also allowed trade between Dhubri in Assam to Chilmari in Bangladesh by allowing the use of shallow draft mechanised vessels.

Inland vessels of both the countries, too, have been allowed to operate on the designated protocol route and dock at ports of call in each country, notified for loading/unloading of cargo.

[/vc_column][/vc_row][/tdc_zone]

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here