PM visits Tripura on Jan 11

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will fly to Agartala on January 11 to receive an honorary Doctorate of Literature degree from Tripura University.
The visit would be the first by any prime minister of Bangladesh to Tripura, which had played a key role in Bangladesh's Liberation War. It is seen as a compliment for the Indian state's outstanding supports to the freedom fighters and the war.
As per the programme schedule, Hasina will depart for Tripura for a two-day official visit on a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at 2:00pm on January 11 and arrive at Singerbhil Airport in Tripura.
Besides attending the convocation on January 12, Hasina will attend a civic reception and meet with political leaders as well as businessmen.
Hasina is expected to lead a 65-member delegation comprised of several ministers, academics, intellectuals, businessmen and media personalities.
"This is for the first time the Tripura University would confer the honorary D Litt on a person after it was set up in 1987," local media said quoting the university's Vice Chancellor Arunoday Saha.
Vice President of India Dr Hamid Ansari would also attend the ninth convocation.
Tripura, which shares an 856km border with Bangladesh, was apparently ignored since long by Bangladesh leaders despite the crucial Agartala conspiracy case, in which Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was one of the main accused.
Some 15 lakh people took refuge in Tripura, more than the state's total population at that time, while the first assaults by freedom fighters were launched from Tripura's soil in 1971. They were provided all-out supports during the nine-month-long Liberation War.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has completed upgrading the Tripura airport with international facilities ahead of the visit of the Bangladesh premier.
Tripura government officials told The Daily Star that Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal will arrive at Agartala to receive the Bangladesh prime minister on behalf of the Indian government.
On the first day of her visit, Hasina will call on Vice President Ansari and will also attend a banquet to be hosted by the vice president, according to the officials in Dhaka and Agartala.
Chief Minister of Tripura Manik Sarkar and Governor of Tripura Dr DY Patil will meet Hasina at the State Guest House of Tripura on the same day.
It is expected that Hasina will also hold a meeting with businessmen to discuss ways to boost trade between Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India.
On the concluding day, on January 12, she will reach Tripura University at 10:00am, inaugurate an open air theatre and unveil a statue of Rabindranath Tagore and then join the convocation procession.
When the ceremony is over, Hasina will attend a civic reception to be hosted by the Tripura chief minister at Assam Rifles Ground. Officials said a huge ceremonial reception would be given to Hasina on behalf of the people of Tripura.
Official sources in Agartala told this correspondent that foolproof security measures have been taken in view of the visit and the Indian central government is closely monitoring the arrangements.
They said separate advance teams of special security forces from Dhaka and New Delhi arrived in Agartala last week to give flawless security to the Bangladesh prime minister and the vice president of India, as well as the accompanying dignitaries.
Besides the tight security arrangements, which include among others, stricter border vigilance and round the clock surveillance, the state administration and the Agartala municipal council are also giving a facelift to the city and its roads through which the VVIPs will travel.
"The Union Home Ministry has deployed an additional two battalions of BSF,” IANS said quoting BSF's Tripura frontier Inspector General PC Meena.
"Security along the border with other northeastern states has also been strengthened. Though there is no specific security threat to the Bangladesh premier, additional deployment has been done in vulnerable areas of the border to foil any intrusion bid from across the border," he added.
The India-Bangla border in Tripura has 20 air-maintained BOPs (border outposts) where logistics support and supplies are being provided by helicopters.