NEW ROADS TO DEVELOPMENT

Indraneel Bhowmik, Asst. Prof. Women’s College, Agartala &

Jayanta Bhattacharya, Bureau Chief of PTI, Agartala

Tripura’s march towards development has been severely handicapped by its

landlocked nature. Bordered by Bangladesh in three sides our connectivity to the
main land is just through the single corridor NH-44, popularly known as the
Assam Agartala Road. This highway runs for 333 kms in the state from
Sabroom, in the southernmost fringe to Churaibari, the tiny town bordering
Assam. This lifeline of Tripura passes through all the four districts of the state
touching three district capitals including the state capital Agartala. Tripura also
has a network of 454 kms under the category of major district roads(MDR)
which links all other subdivisions and often originates from the national
highway. Moreover, there are 1543 kms of other district roads (ODR) and 582
kms of Indo- Bangladesh Border roads (IBBR) which is under the operational
control of the Border Roads Organization. The village roads (VR) in the state are
categorised under two heads from the context of construction and maintenance-
Rural Development Department/ Autonomous District Council and Public
Works Department. Of the total 12681 kms of village roads, 7912 kms are under
RD/ADC while the remaining 4769 kms are catered by PWD. In all, the state
boasts of 15,593 kms of road. However, in terms of quality of the roads, it is the
earthen category that maximizes with 8957 kms, i.e., 57.44%. The Black topped
roads have a network of 3762 kms, 24.13% while Brick soled road comprises of
2874 kms thus having a share of 18.43%. Naturally it is evident that black
topped coating exist in the highways and district roads, while majority of the
village roads are made of earth, called ‘kutchcha’ in the local parlance.

The importance of roads in connecting the vast rural areas of India to form the
national market and economy cannot be overstated and Tripura is no exception.
Connectivity provided by roads is perhaps the single most important determinant
of well being and the quality of life of people living in an urban area. The
efficiency of the innumerable government programmes aimed at rural
development, employment generation, and local industrialization is, to large
extent, determined by the connectivity provided by roads. There is a
considerable body of evidence that demonstrates the links between rural road
investment, decline in poverty, and improvement in the quality of life. Road
investment contributed directly to the growth of agricultural output, increased
use of fertilizer and commercial bank expansion. Improvements in rural roads
are positively correlated with decline in poverty. The potential value in
improving of rural connectivity especially in the agricultural states is revealed by
the large differences between mandi and farm gate prices.

Tripura geographically is pear shaped and the national highway runs through the
middle bisecting the area in almost two equal parts. The major district roads
(e.g- Kumarghat to Kailashahar) branches from the NH-44 and the other district
roads (Kailashahar to Dharmanagar via Unokoti) break off further from these
MDRs. The road adjacent to our capital from Akhaura to Lankamura is an
example of the border roads, however it is to be remembered that the border
roads are in possession of the security forces and they may at times close these

Paper Presented at the National Seminar held in Tripura University on the NER-
VISION 2020 in Dec, 2005
routes for public transport due to security reasons. The village roads as found in
the rural development blocks and the ADC villages are often constructed under
the PMGSY. The various nature of the existing road network testifies to the fact
that there is an excessive dependence on the national highway for movement of
both passengers and freight. The tracks travelled are long, tiring and expensive
(e.g. - Ariel distance between Kamalpur and Khowai is hardly 25 kms whereas
one has to travel more than 80 kms and that too at specified hours availing the
military escorts between Ambassa and Chakmaghat. This is sheer wastage of
resources but cannot be avoided due to non- economic factors.

The state administration is presently categorised into four districts, seventeen

subdivisions, and forty rural development blocks. This paper visualises a state
where a ring road will exist thereby facilitating movement from one area to other
without having to track the national highways. A ring road connecting the
following block headquarters can be constructed –
Mohanpur(W)—Hezamara(W)---Khowai(W)---Salema(D)---Gournagar
{viaFatikroy}(N)---Kadamtala(N)---Damchherra(N)---Dasda(N)---
Jampui(N)---Chhamanu(D)---Damboornagar(D)---Karbook(S)---
Rupaichhari(S)---Satchand(S)---Hrishyamukh(S)---Rajnagar(S)---
Kathalia(W)--- Baxanagar(W)---Bishalgarh(W)- Dukli(W)---Mohanpur(W).

It is to be noted that presently there exists connectivity among many areas of the
proposed road, but the condition of these are miserable. Narrow, uneven, broken
are the nature of the roads whatever it exists. Added to it is the threat from the
insurgents. Vehicular traffic is hardly existent. The numbers stand further
reduced due to lack of maintenance.

The construction of such a state highway will deliver several benefits namely-
• Freight charges will come down- with less roads to cover and non
congested traffic;
• Travelling will be pleasant- arduous hours in the roads due to escort
system will reduce;
• Generation of employment opportunities- construction and maintenance
of the road;
• Ensure better living standards in the rural areas- easy access to markets
and better prices for agricultural produce;
• Attract Investment from other states and countries;
• Help in controlling the insurgent activities- government can be more
vigilant;
• Boost the existing investment opportunities like- rubber, tea, fruits,
handicrafts & handlooms, etc;
• Disperse the skewed distribution of vehicles concentration in West
district, presently 82% of the vehicles in the state are registered in the
West district; and
• Promote Tripura as a destination for ecotourism.

This ring road will not just connect the block headquarters but will also be
effective in easing out the burden on the national highway. The Ring Road can
be built as a state highway with financial assistance from DONER agencies,

Paper Presented at the National Seminar held in Tripura University on the NER-
VISION 2020 in Dec, 2005
even NEC can be source for it. This project even merits the constitution of an
autonomous Tripura Road Fund which can be generated by-
• Amounts received from the Central Road Fund under the Central Road
Fund Act, 2000;
• A certain percent of the tax collected by the state government under the
motor vehicles taxation act;
• All fees, fines and other amount collected by the traffic authorities in the
state
• User fees;
• Income from treasury operations; and
• Grants and loans or advances from the state and central government.

Interestingly, such a road will also be near to the state’s perimeter and be an
impetus to not just intra state movement but also with the neighbours. The Mizo
speaking population in the Jampui hills can access better communication with
Mizoram. MDRs and ODRs can supplement this state highway by connecting
the road with particular points of entry and exit with Mizoram and Assam. This
road will of course be a great fillip to the international trade with Bangladesh.
The number of designated Land Customs Centres, seven presently, can increase.

Bangla Tripura communications including Roads Railways and Ports

Tripura is one of the closest neighbours of Bangladesh with whom we share 85%
of our border and our state is also girded by the country in three sides. Only a
small portion of Tripura in northern side has border which is the entry-exit point
of the state through roadways.

But, was Tripura a land locked state? No, the partition of the country in 1947 is
mainly for that. The roadways communication inside the princely Tripura was
very poor in terms of infra structure development. The entire communication
was through then East Bengal. If anybody looks at the pre-partition map would
find that all the major towns in Tripura is located within about ten km radius of
East Bengal. Like opposite of Agartala is Akhaura and Brahmanbaria, Against
Sonamura is Comilla and Against Kailashahar is Moulavibazaar etc. So in case
of going to Kailashahar from Agartala one cought the train from Akhaura to
Moulavibazar and then eight to ten k.m by roadways to reach there. So, there is
need of restoration of the pre-partition communication map for faster and easier
flow of traffic and boost the border trade between the two regions.
Before the partition of the country the transport network in this region was
integrated system radiating outwards from international sea port of Kolkata and
Chittagong. The inland water transport system also served parts of India,
particularly the eastern parts with links to the ports of Kolkata and Chittagong.
Before the partition there was an integrated transportation system to support an
integrated single economy. “The decline in economic interactions within the
sub-region in turn led to a de-integration of the transport system. In order to
promote cooperation for re-integrating the transport system, it is necessary to
create new economic complementaries among the countries of the sub-region”

The agreement for South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) has come into force
from 1st Jan, this year which provides for free trade of goods among the SAARC

Paper Presented at the National Seminar held in Tripura University on the NER-
VISION 2020 in Dec, 2005
countries. So, it is presumed that the official border trade between Bangladesh
and Tripura as well as the entire North East region is likely to enhance in near
future. If the North-East is the gate way to the South Asian Countries The
Tripura is the gateway to the North-East.

So, it is the need of the hour to formulate a comprehensive and common

Transport policy for India and Bangladesh on the basis of sub-regional transport
network and the following issues may be resolved as a mark of confidence
building measure.

1) To permit Indian goods to be transported through Bangladesh to and

from India’s North East.
2) To allow north eastern bordering states to use Chittagong port and
allow Bangladesh districts to use Kolkata , Haldia and upcoming
Kulpi ports.
3) To upgrade all meter gauge railway track into broad gauge track in
N-E region and in Bangladesh. Particularly the capitals of N-E states
should be connected by BG track with Dhaka and Chittagong.
4) Liberalisation of Visa system of both the countries.

As an welcome move Dhaka–Agartala bus service was introduced in September,

2003. But we need a direct Agartala-Kolkata bus service through
Bangladesh.

The existing Waterways Transport System through Bangladesh between

Karimganj in Assam near North Tripura and Kolkata is needed to be
strengthened. Presently this waterways route is available for only about six
months in a year. Some dredging is needed in Bangladesh side, in the upper
reaches starting from Karimganj side in order to make this route available for a
longer duration.

The existing trade agreement with Bangladesh does not provide for a multimodal
transportation of goods from India to Bangladesh (Involving road transportation
from Agartala to Ashuganj and Ashuganj onward by river) and vice-versa. This
requires amendment of Article –V111 of the trade agreement. The river port is
about 30 km from Agartala which remains open throughout the year.

References-
1. Economic Review of Tripura,2003-04, Directorate of Economics and
Statistics, Planning Department, Govt. of Tripura
2. Pramod Agarwal and Arun Agarwal; Implementing a Rural Roads
Project in Madhya Pradesh, India Infrastructure Report 2004, OUP
3. Hans Binswanger, Shahidur Khandker and Mark Rosenzweig; ‘How
Infrastructure and Financial Institutions Affect Agricultural Output and
Investment in India’; Journal of Development Economics, Vol-41, 1993
4. Jayanta Bhattacharya, Bangladesh India Communications including
Roads Railways and Ports
5. Dr Rahamatullah, Surface Transport Links Between North East India and
Bangladesh

Paper Presented at the National Seminar held in Tripura University on the NER-
VISION 2020 in Dec, 2005