AGARTALA, July 4 (TIWN): Ministry of Railways, Govt of India has decided to reduce the project cost of the India-Bangladesh rail line from Tripura connecting Bangladesh. The 15-km-long Agartala-Akhaura railway route would connect Indian Railways with the Bangladesh Railways through the North-East which would improve connectivity and boost trade between the two countries. With the setting of elevated corridor of 3.7 km, Advisor of Transport, Government of India Dr Manoj Singh has asked the state government regarding the preparation and progress of Agartala-Akhaura Rail Project.The government of India has reduced the total amount of fund from Rs 302 crore to Rs 97 crore. According to the official of the state transport department here the elevated corridor would require 67 acres of land where a total of 19 families would be affected.The state transport department are on the way towards the preliminary works under the new land acquisition act. If the state government receives 60% of the sanctioned fund, then it will begin the construction work of railway from Agartala-Akhaura, said the official.The process of laying 15 km long railway tracks to connect Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh is expected to be completed by 2017.Railway tracks would be set up from Badharghat Railway station to the national highway and it covers a total of distance of 500 metre where surface tracks will be laid. This length of railway track would be laid on a width of 10 metre.After that, the elevated corridor will begin and end at Charipara yard. This elevated corridor would be taking a width of 30 metres, the official informed on Friday.

However it is worthy to mention here that a team comprising of North East Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Engineer Harpal Singh, technical experts of IRCON, representatives of state government and Indian High Commission in Dhaka visited the sites of laying the tracks on June 27.

The official said that as the project would be lowered and the land would be cut from the Indian Territory a new Direct Project Report (DPR) would be made soon.

The entire funding would be done by the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry and another funding by the Government of India. Earlier during the recently held NITI Aayog meeting it was decided that the Union Ministry of Railways would fund the project as the DoNER ministry has no available fund for the extension project.