Two-day meet begins today
Raheed Ejaz
Dhaka and Delhi are beginning two-day talks in Dhaka today to renew the inland water transit and trade protocol, aimed at boosting the inland water trade, between the two next-door neighbours.
Foreign and shipping ministry officials told New Age the deal, scheduled to expire on March 31, would be renewed for the next two years on the final day of the two-day meeting.
The shipping secretary, Masud Elahi, and additional secretary of India’s road, transport and highways ministry Vijay Chhibber will represent their sides in the negotiation and sign the deal on behalf of the governments.
Officials in Dhaka, however, hinted the issue of the inclusion of Ashuganj as a new port of call, especially for easy transport of Indian goods from Kolkata to Agartala through Bangladesh, would not be incorporated in the renewed deal.
But during the visit of India’s external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee, to Dhaka on February 9, Bangladesh hinted giving its nod to New Delhi’s proposal for inclusion of Ashuganj as a new port of call in the deal.
‘After the meeting between the two foreign ministers, there has been little progress in incorporating the new port of call in the deal. Other than high level political decision, there is no scope for any significant change in this sort of deal,’ an official said.
Another official said Dhaka would request Delhi to provide more money as levy for the navigability of the route from the present Tk 2 crore mark a year.
According to Article 3.5 of the deal covering the maintenance of the routes, India paid Bangladesh at the rate of Tk 200 lakh a year till April 30, 2007.
It was agreed at the last meeting in New Delhi an upward revision of the rate would be considered in consultation between the two governments.
The inland water transit protocol was first signed in 1980 under the bilateral trade agreement of 1980 which facilitated mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of the waterways for commerce, keeping the river routes navigable within each territories.
The protocol was first renewed in 1999, then in 2001 and last in 2007.
During the last bilateral meeting of the shipping officials in 2007, India proposed to get Paglahghat in Narayanganj, Meghnaghat in Comilla and Noapara in Jessore, apart from Ashuganj, as new ports of call.
The two countries now allow each other four water points as ports of call to ferry their goods. The ports are Narayanganj, Mongla, Khulna and Sirajganj for India and Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj and Pandu for Bangladesh.
In keeping with the protocol, both the countries allow transit for cargo through eight routes, counting both ways.
The Kolkata–Pandu route stretches via Haldia, Raimangal, Chalna, Khulna, Mongla, Kaukhali, Barisal, Hizla, Chandpur, Narayanganj, Aricha, Sirajganj, Bahadurabad, Chilmari and Dhubri.
The Kolkata-Karimganj route stretches via Haldia, Raimangal, Mongla, Kaukhali, Barisal, Hizla, Chandpur, Narayanganj, Bhairab Bazar, Ajmiriganj, Markuli, Sherpur, Fenchuganj and Zakiganj.
Two of the routes are between Rajshahi and Dhulian via Godagari, both ways.
The Karimganj–Pandu route stretches via Zakiganj, Fenchuganj, Sherpur, Markuli, Ajmiriganj, Bhairab Bazar, Narayanganj, Chandpur, Aricha, Sirajganj, Bahadurabad, Chilmari and Dhubri.
Courtesy of NewAge
