India wants to take fuel from Assam to Tripura via Bangladesh

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) today said it plans to transport fuel from Assam to Tripura using Bangladesh territory as the local rail network has been snapped due to massive landslides in Assam.

After the only rail link connecting Assam's Dima Hasao district and Barak Valley with Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and the rest parts of India has been washed away earlier this month, the corporation started moving all its supplies by road via Meghalaya, bearing more than double cost.

"After the landslides in Dima Hasao, the only way to reach Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and southern Assam was the road connectivity via Meghalaya. This route is also landslide-prone," IOC Executive Director G Ramesh told PTI in Guwahati.

This situation forced the Indian government to look for alternative ways to supply fuel to the southern region of the Northeast, he added.

Ramesh said the company's North East division sent a few consignments to Tripura via Bangladesh in 2016 when the supply was badly hit due to road conditions in Barak Valley in Assam during the monsoon.

"We are trying to revive that six-year-old network as an alternative route. Currently, we are talking to the Bangladesh government through the centre. We are hopeful that positive news will come soon," he added.

The company is planning to send its convoys of fuel through Dawki in Meghalaya to Bangladesh. It will then re-enter India through the Kailashahar area in Tripura.

The distance for transporting different types of fuel from IOC's Betkuchi depot to Dharmanagar depot via Bangladesh will be 376 km, including 137 km inside Bangladesh, against 579 km in the normal route through the Meghalaya-Barak Valley.