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Title : Need to make Budgetary provision for linking Agartala-Subroom railway line in Tripura.
SHRI KHAGEN DAS (TRIPURA-WEST): Sir, there has been a long-standing demand of the people of Tripura for extension of railway line from Agartala to Subroom. In 1998-99, Agartala-Subroom new broad gauge line survey was sanctioned and a preliminary survey was completed. The survey report was updated in 2004-05 and the report was sent to the Railway Board by the North-Frontier Railway authorities in early 2005. The project is extremely important for the State as also the North-Eastern Region for the following reasons:
1. Once the line is extended up to Subroom it would cater to the needs of the rest 50 per cent of the State population.
2. South Tripura is quite rich in natural gas, rubber and other natural resources which could not be exploited due to inadequate transportation facilities.
3. Effort is being made to exploit the existing Inland Water Transport Protocol route through Bangladesh for movement of goods and essential commodities from the mainland to the State which can be further transported by rail to different parts of the State.
4. Once Subroom is connected, it would be easier to connect Chittagong Port, at a distance of only 75 kms through the existing Bangladesh Railway network.
5. With this link in position, Tripura can be the gateway for trade and commerce to a host of South East Asian countries.
6. Once the project comes up, this will have a tremendous impact on the economy of the entire North-East region.
Therefore, I strongly demand that a Budgetary provision be made for this project in the Supplementary demands for Grants for 2006-07.