AGARTALA: Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has taken an initiative to bring cooking gas using water route of neighbouring Bangladesh as the key Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH44) remained blocked for a week due to landslide and breaking of roads due to incessant rains in Assam.
IOC has already asked the central government to take up the matter with Bangladesh to arrange for bringing cooking gas from West Bengal via Ashuganj port in Brahmanbaria district of the neighbouring country which is about 50 kms from here. This was informed by Giridhari Adhikari, Manager of Bishalgarh gas bottling plant, to the Principal Secretary of Tripura Food Department, S K Rakesh, in a letter yesterday.
Adhikari, in his letter, also urged the state government to take up the matter with the central government. Meanwhile, two MPs from Tripura -- Jitendra Chowdhury and Shankarprasad Datta -- jointly wrote to the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, urging him to repair a 20 kms long road from Churaibari in North Tripura district to Patharkandi in Assam.
The road has virtually turned into a paddy field as it has been broken due to incessant rain and floods, they said in the letter, adding that thousands of trucks carrying essential commodities remained stranded. Prices of essential commodities have been skyrocketing due to stranding of trucks, they said.
The MPs mentioned that besides Tripura, Mizoram and Barak valley of Assam were also facing difficult situations because of the poor condition of the road.