AGARTALA, December 1 (TIWN): “This (Palatana) is the place where the Friends of Bangladesh during the 1971 Liberation War took shelter as got assistance from the people of Tripura. And from now again the historical bond will be revived as Bangladesh will import power from OTPCs Palatana plant .I am grateful to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hassina because it is she who took the initiative in allowing ONGC to bring the heavy machineries here. And now I assure that if Bangladesh wants to import power from India, we will let them buy power. ”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing in the inaugural ceremony of the second unit of the 363.3 MW capacity gas-based combine cycle power project at Palatana in south Tripura, here today. PM further mentioned that in the North East, a multi-billion dollar mega infrastructure project estimated to cost Rs. 2.25 Lakh crores ($50 billion) will link the Seven Sister states of the North East to each other and to contiguous neighbours like Bangladesh, Burma and Bhutan. Prime Minister stresses that Tripura along with other parts of the North East is abundant in natural resources with plenty of probability in tourism sector. He said," My Govt has decided to spend Rs 28000 crore only for the development of railway in the north east. If 21st Century is the age of development, then Tripura is the gateway of the entire South East Asia in sphere of development."

Like the DMIC, an exemplary foreign policy initiative with Japan as a 50% partner with the Indian government, the Seven Sisters’ Corridor could partner with Thailand, a state with which India is in the process of signing a Free Trade Agreement, and whose major companies like ITAL-Thai Development Company and the CP Group have the necessary expertise to develop infrastructure and small scale industries such as food processing. Myanmar, an emerging democracy with deep cultural linkages to the region, can also be engaged as a junior partner.

The plan (see map) will link all the six North East state capitals with each other and with border points with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar by road. The planned East-West National Highway Corridor, a National Highways Authority project which connects Porbunder in Gujarat to Silchar in Assam, can be extended to include the Golden Jubilee Rail Link border point to connect with Bhutan in Kokrajhar (Assam). Beyond Assam, it should fork out through Akhaura in Tripura to connect with the Ashuganj Port border point with Bangladesh, extend the existing Friendship Road border point at Moreh (Manipur) with Myanmar, and connect two more border towns –Zowkhathar in Mizoram and Avakhung in Nagaland – again with Myanmar, PM mentioned.

Like the DMIC, the Seven Sisters Corridor should provide high speed road connectivity, land for industrial regions and complimentary housing needs, uninterrupted power, access to ports for trading goods, financing for start-up entrepreneurs and small businesses, broadband and telecom access for businesses, and security to people, Modi added.