AGARTALA, Sep 20 (TIWN): “NH-44’s continuous deplorable condition may bring crisis within the state, ‘except food’, as Tripura has atleast 3 month’s food storage”, said Transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik while talking to TIWN on Saturday evening. According to Transport Secretary, Tripura has enough food storage for 3 months, other daily commodities items like vegetable, oil crisis may escalate with NH-44’s worsen condition partly due to Assam Govt”. Bhowmik further said,” NH-44 renovation work under progress, but all works are done on temporary basis, as rainy season needs to be ended; and during winter season the road will not be stressed so much”. He also mentioned, DM North had confirmed that the NH-44 repair work has been started but it may take 2-3 months more to be complete as the damaged roads are being filled on temporary basis, so no permanent solution till the wet season is over. Agreeing to the fact that NH-44 needs to be renovated urgently he said, “we do not have any control over Assam Govt. Moreover rail-line is going to stop from Sunday for next 6 months, which will create more pressure on NH-44”.
“Road will be the replacement of rail from September 20; naturally NH-44 has to be used as the supplement of Rail-line”, said Transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik. Bhowmik also said, if the road had been done metaling earlier then the State Transport System would not have suffered so much. “However. in the last letter I received from DM North, it was said that initiatives have been taken for NH-44’s repair on urgent basis”, added Bhowmik.

However, talking about food crisis, Bhowmik said, “The opinion regarding food-crisis is not appreciable as food-grains are sufficient in Tripura and it will cover at least 3 months”. However he further criticized that petrol crisis may be started due to NH-44’s bad situation, but unnecessary crisis has been already spread in the market in the name of NH-44’s bad condition. “All the petrol pumps have their own-storage, where minimum 20 to 25 KL petrol is being stocked. So the present crisis not anyhow related to National Highway’s bad condition, this may be something else!”, said Bhowmik.

“Vegetable prices might go higher due to this Transport problem, but potato, sugar, cook-oil all these are enough stored in state go-downs. So there is no chance of food-scarcity, hence a group of people has started already to do business by making NH-44 an issue and thus increased the prices”, said Bhowmik.

However, he further criticized the Assam Govt. for not taking any urgent initiatives and also said, “the work on this National Highway need to be solved permanently, rather than temporary patch-works”.

It’s to be mentioned here that in the month of June, Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari, had announced about the construction of two new national highways to connect Tripura with Assam:  one from Sabroom to Kukital in Assam and the other is from Khowai to Agartala, still initiatives yet to be taken.

 Moreover the only rail link of Tripura with other states from Badarpur in Assam, will shut down for six months from October 1 for conversion to Broad gauge.As a result in transport and import business Tripura facing acute problems as a result of which Tripura is being hit by various crisis.