Agartala: A School of Logistics, Waterways and Communication has been started in Agartala with an aim to tap the local talent pool.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony on January 11 on the potential of waterways as an avenue of economic progress of the North East, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has been taking all the necessary steps to power the engine of the new India; i.e., our beautiful northeast, reach its maximum potential.”

The Centre for Logistics, Communication and Waterways will facilitate research, training, workshops and seminars for stakeholders. It has been set up under State Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (SIPARD). SIPARD is an autonomous body funded by the Government of Tripura and partially by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

“As per Modiji’s vision, our Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has been working towards reviving our complex inland waterways system in order to propel cargo and passenger transport in the region. Apart from being a swift, clean and affordable means of transport, this opens a new ray of hope for growth of trade with the international market,” Sonowal said.

“The deeper, longer and wider network inland waterways will not only decongest and reduce carbon footprints, but has the potential to generate significant economic activities and boost international trade in the region,” he added.
The investment for comprehensively developing National Waterways 16 (Barak) and the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Routes 5, 6, 9 and 10 has been enhanced to Rs 148 crore till 2024-25.

Under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, multi-modal connectivity, Tripura is to be connected through IBP routes 9 and 10 with Kolkata/Haldia Port and then on to Chittagong Port in Bangladesh and Sittwe Port in Myanmar.

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