Moitree Model for NE
Sangma suggests railway, bus links with Dhaka: New Delhi, May 4: Dhaka has been cold to New Delhi’s request for transit facilities to the Northeast, but leaders in the region hope the ice will melt soon. Lured by the success of the Calcutta-Dhaka Moitree Express, Meghalaya wants transport links, including railway connectivity, with Bangladesh. The chairman of state Planning Board, P.A. Sangma, hopes to open negotiations with Bangladesh for a bus service between Tura, the headquarters of West Garo Hills, and Dhaka. He is also pitching for a railway link from Baghmara, the headquarters of South Garo Hills, to the nearest railway line in Bangladesh, which is 17km away. “Only that much needs to be constructed by us. I have written to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee expressing my wish to visit the neighbouring country,” the former Lok Sabha Speaker, who hails from Tura, said. Meghalaya chief minister Donkupar Roy urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week for a transport link...