CHITTAGONG, Jan 24: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar said Bangladesh would get 100 megawatts of electricity from Palatana Power Plant in the Indian state as the Bangladesh government has accorded cooperation in building the power plant in taking the equipment to Agartala through the Ashuganj port.
He was speaking at a function organised on the occasion of the international photographic exhibition of the Chittagong Photo Journalists Association (CPJA) in Agartala, the capital city of Tripura, on Thursday night, sources in the Photo Journalists Association said.
He said he wanted quick solution to the water sharing and LBA (land boundary agreement) issues and exchange of enclaves between Bangladesh and the central government of India.
He also expressed hope that the government of Bangladesh would also consider the issue of transit and transhipment facilities through Chittagong Port and Ashugonj Port with due importance.
"We are not speaking about transit facilities right at this moment. But we can at least hope for the transhipment facilities. We hope Bangladesh Government will try its best to take a positive approach to that," he said.
He also said that even if the Indian Government delays, Bangladesh government can step ahead and put pressure on the India government so that India cannot dillydally.
"We have set up a power generation plant at Palatana, 65 kilometres off Agartala where the machinery has been imported from abroad and transhipped through Ashugonj port of Bangladesh. Had they not allowed us to use the Ashuganj port, we could not have built this power plant," he said.
The Palatana power will be transmitted through Suryamoni city of Tripura to Comilla of Bangladesh and a supply line would be shortly constructed, he said adding that a project had already been prepared. He expressed hope that power would be supplied through that line within a few months.
The photo exhibition styled My Soil, My Soul concluded on Saturday at the Art Gallery of Agartala City Centre. It was held in cooperation with the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, Dhaka and Agartala Press Club. The inaugural function was chaired by president of Agartatal Press Club Satyabrata Chakraborty. President of CPJA Didarul Alam also spoke on the occasion.
A total of 44 photographs of 22 photo journalists of Bangladesh were displayed in the exhibition.
