Latest news with #BIMSTECSummit
News18
17-05-2025
- Business
- News18
Proposed Kolkata-Northeast Link To Pass Via Sea, Giving Bangladesh A Miss
Last Updated: The Shillong-Silchar highway project will extend a key transport route in Myanmar, offering an alternative sea link between North-East states and Kolkata. In a significant development, the proposed highway project linking Meghalaya's Shillong and Assam's Silchar will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar. The proposed road project will also lead to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, reported The Indian Express while quoting an National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) official. The project is being described as a response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus's remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is 'landlocked" and Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region". Yunus made the remarks while seeking 'extension of the Chinese economy". A few days later, on April 4, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that PM Modi told Yunus that 'rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided". 166.8-km Proposed Highway The proposed four-lane highway will span across 166.8-km along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It will be first high-speed corridor project in the North-East and is expected to be completed by 2030. Meanwhile, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs — and links the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section. However, Bangladesh has restricted access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region. Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative — the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed. The construction of the Shillong-Sichar highway will involve major engineering work, including slope stabilisation to predict landslides, as the alignment traverses through difficult hilly terrain. Further, the Centre approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore on April 30. Of the total 166.8-km project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya while Assam will get 22 km in its share. Once operational, the highway will reduce the travel time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 17, 2025, 17:28 IST
Indian Express
16-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
New North-East link to Kolkata will be via sea, giving Bangladesh a miss
The proposed highway from Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar, leading to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, a senior official from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) told The Indian Express. The official described the project as a response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus's remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is 'landlocked' and Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region' — he said this while seeking 'extension of the Chinese economy'. Days later, on April 4, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The Ministry of External Affairs said Modi told Yunus that 'rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided'. The 166.8-km four-lane highway along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar is the first high-speed corridor project in the North-East. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and is expected to be completed by 2030. At the other end, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs — and connects the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section. 'The NHIDCL will take the project further from Zorinpui to Lawngtlai to Aizawl in Mizoram. This is not only the first high-speed corridor in the North-East, but the first such project in the hilly region. Shillong-Silchar is significant as Silchar is the entry point for connecting Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur as well as the Barak Valley region of Assam. Thus, it will become a major connectivity link for the entire North-East and an important milestone for developing the region as a gateway for India's Act East Policy,' the NHIDCL official said. 'With the help of the Kaladan project, cargo will reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the North-East, without being dependent on Bangladesh. The high speed-corridor will ensure transportation of goods via road after that, which will spur economic activity in the region,' the official said. Currently, the only access to the seven North-East states is through the Siliguri Corridor, also called the 'Chicken's Neck', for the rest of India. The other two points of entry are through Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bangladesh has, however, curtailed access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region. Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative — the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed. The construction of the Shillong highway will involve major engineering work, including slope stabilisation to predict landslides, as the alignment traverses through difficult hilly terrain. On April 30, the Union Cabinet approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore. Of the total length of the project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya and 22 km in Assam. Once operational, the new alignment will reduce journey time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours. According to the NHIDCL official, the new highway will reduce dependency on the Siliguri Corridor. 'While the project is of strategic importance, it is also going to be one of the most challenging ones as the terrain is very difficult and the existing condition of the road is not good,' he said. 'The National Institute of the Rock Mechanics has been roped in for the detailed study of the rock in the region. We will deploy modern technology and machinery in the construction to provide all-weather connectivity. We will have slope stabilisation to predict the landslide so the movement of traffic can be stopped. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanning has been used for topographical surveys. Based on the data collected from surveys, three solutions have been proposed — strengthening by rock anchors, high strength wire mesh panels and protection walls,' the official said. Modern instruments would be deployed to monitor the slope after its stabilisation and construction of various protective measures, he said. 'Piezometer, Rain Gauge, Settlement Gauge, Inclinometer, Geophones, etc., are key equipment which will be installed for the monitoring,' the official said. Geophones are used for vibration monitoring in seismic and geotechnical projects. Inclinometers are used in hill slope monitoring to detect and measure ground deformation, indicating potential slope instability or landslide movement. Rain gauge helps in measuring rainfall, settlement gauges are used to monitor vertical movement or settlements within hill slopes, and piezometers are used for monitoring pore water pressure in hill slopes. The Shillong-Silchar project will be implemented in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), one of the forms of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). It will have 19 major bridges, 153 minor bridges, 326 culverts, 22 underpasses, 26 overpasses, eight limited height subway and 34 viaducts. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
NDTV
05-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Hindu Monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Now Charged With Murder Of Chittagong Lawyer
Dhaka: Prominent Hindu leader and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, Chinmoy Krishna Das, was shown arrested on charges of the murder of Chittagong court lawyer Saiful Islam Alif by a local court on Monday. The lawyer was allegedly hacked to death outside the court premises on November 7 last year. Chittagong's Metropolitan Magistrate S M Alauddin granted the police application for Das' arrest and passed the order during a virtual hearing. "Investigating officers submitted applications on Sunday to show Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested in four cases. The court on Monday granted shown arrest in the Alif murder case following a virtual hearing. The hearings on the other three applications will be held on Tuesday," Dhaka Tribune quoted Public Prosecutor of the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan as saying. Earlier on April 30, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court stayed the High Court order of granting bail to Das in a sedition case. Judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Rezaul Haque passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the state counsel hours after the High Court granted him bail. The stay order remains in force until the filing of a leave-to-appeal petition and release of the full text of the verdict. The Bangladesh High Court had earlier granted bail to Das, who was arrested on November 25 last year on charges of sedition, linked to alleged disrespect of the national flag during a rally in Chittagong. His arrest had sparked widespread outrage across the world. Chinmoy was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 and sent to jail the following day after a Chittagong court rejected his bail plea. On December 11, 2024, the same court again refused bail in the case. The arrest of Das had sparked massive protests by the Hindu community in Bangladesh, which has been in political turmoil since August 2024 when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was removed amidst widespread violent demonstrations. In the following nine months, Bangladesh has witnessed rising cases of attacks on the Hindu community ever since the Hasina-led government was toppled and an interim administration was formed under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus. India has taken a tough line on the rights of the Hindu minority and repeatedly stated that there is "systematic persecution of Hindu minorities" under the Yunus-led interim government. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, during his meeting with Yunus on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. Recently, Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent leader of the Hindu community associated with the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Committee, was abducted from his home and beaten to death by four individuals on April 18.
Japan Forward
25-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Forward
India, Japan, and the BIMSTEC Countries: What Lies at Stake?
In Bangkok, the recent Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation summit, commonly known as BIMSTEC, provides a good opportunity for the leaders of the member countries to meet on a common platform. The BIMSTEC region is home to roughly 1.73 billion people and has a combined gross domestic product of $5.2 trillion USD. It was established in June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. During his speech at the recent BIMSTEC Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that "BIMSTEC serves as a vital bridge between South and Southeast Asia, and is emerging as a powerful platform for advancing regional connectivity, cooperation, and shared prosperity." Its member states are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Their location is therefore critical for both India and Japan. However, this grouping has faced many challenges, especially in recent times. One of the main concerns is that the regime in Bangladesh has changed. This has led to elevated tensions in the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh. Also, Myanmar is on the edge of a precipice with the ongoing civil war and the devastating earthquake that hit the country recently. Relations between India and Bangladesh have soured over the treatment of minorities in Bangladesh and India's shelter provided to the deposed leader, Shiekh Hasina. A troubling issue for BIMSTEC is the differences between Bangladesh and Myanmar, where the junta has lost control of significant portions of its territory. Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Myanmar have differences over the issue of the Rohingyas. Many of this minority have fled the violence in the Myanmarese border province of Rakhine (earlier known as Arakan) to Bangladesh. BIMSTEC Leaders at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit (©Prime Minister of India website) BIMSTEC is important for India for a host of reasons. One is that Myanmar is the gateway to the ASEAN region for India. New Delhi has reached out to the ASEAN countries in a big way ever since the end of the Cold War, which led India to reset its foreign policy priorities through its "Act-East Policy." In the past, India has taken a keen interest in the BIMSTEC as another regional organization. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, of which India is a part, was not going anywhere. That was owing to the differences between India and Pakistan. BIMSTEC member countries like Sri Lanka are very important for India. During his return from the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, PM Modi also visited Sri Lanka. This is significant since in the past, Sri Lanka was perceived as tilting towards China. However, that has changed now. Prime Minister Modi receives highest honors for a foreign leader from the President of Sri Lanka. (©Prime Minister of India website) New Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's first port of call after taking over the government was India. PM Modi also became the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after he was inaugurated. Earlier in 2020, India was also one of the first countries to come to the aid of Sri Lanka after it defaulted on its sovereign debt, along with countries like Japan. In addition, the Easter terror attacks of April 2019 made it clear that the danger to Sri Lanka was not from India, but from internal factors. The BIMSTEC region is even more important for India in light of the tariffs imposed by the Trump government against various countries. In South Asia, that includes countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The BIMSTEC region, especially countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, is important for the success of Japan's free and open Indo-Pacific or FOIP strategy. Japan was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka lies on critical sea lanes of communication in the Indo-Pacific region. It is worth mentioning here that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has a base in Djibouti. And for the maintenance of this base, Sri Lanka's location is very important. In July 2024, Tokyo also resumed disbursement to yen loan projects. Japan had suspended these to the region since Sri Lanka's default in 2022. Prime Minister Modi is welcomed by the Prime Minister of Thailand. (©Prime Minister of India website) BIMSTEC nations like Thailand have been important investment destinations for Japanese auto makers. In addition, in the wake of the Trump Administration imposing sanctions on China, Japanese companies may also be forced to relocate additional production lines to other countries. For this purpose, the BIMSTEC member countries could be attractive options. The challenge for Japan will, of course, be in Myanmar, due to the instability in that country. However, a lot of Japanese investments are held up there. It is also worth mentioning that neither Japan nor India is a part of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Hence, both countries need to provide alternate models of infrastructure development to the BIMSTEC member countries. It is in India and Japan's economic and political interests to look anew at the BIMSTEC region. India has a policy called "Neighborhood First," which aims to reach immediate neighbors. As a part of this, India has been the first responder in times of natural disasters in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. At the same time, Japan has also been actively involved in aiding these nations during times of crises, both economic and natural. Hence, a greater effectiveness would come from having India and Japan pool their efforts in the BIMSTEC region. Author: Dr Rupakjyoti Borah Dr Rupakjyoti Borah is a Senior Research Fellow with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies. The views expressed here are personal .
Hans India
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Myanmar hit by 154 aftershocks following deadly 7.7-magnitude quake
Yangon: A total of 154 aftershocks have hit Myanmar since a devastating earthquake struck the country on March 28, according to the country's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology on Wednesday. These tremors ranged in magnitude from 2.8 to 7.5, according to the department, Xinhua news agency reported. As of Tuesday, the earthquake has claimed 3,759 lives and injured 5,107 others, with 114 people still reported missing nationwide, official data showed. On April 17, India, under Operation Brahma, had sent an additional consignment of relief material that was handed over by Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Abhay Thakur to Mandalay Chief Minister Myo Aung in the presence of diaspora leaders of Mandalay and Sagaing. The relief aid included RO water plant, genset, rice, noodles, cooking oil, atta, sugar, dal, salt, MREs, blankets and medicines for the needy, the Embassy of India in Yangon stated. India had launched Operation Brahma to provide necessary support, including Search and Rescue (SAR), humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and medical assistance, following the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28. Under Operation Brahma, India was the first responder to the earthquake-hit Myanmar and has provided relief supplies of over 750 MT including essential medicines, foodgrain, ready-to-eat meals, tents, blankets, gensets, rapidly deployable surgical and medical shelters, water sanitation and hygiene services, drinking water, essential clothing, prefabricated office/residential structures, etc. Further, humanitarian assistance consisting of an 80-member NDRF Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Specialists Team and a 127-member Indian Army field hospital team were also deployed. The supply of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material to Myanmar demonstrates India's willingness to stand with the people of Myanmar and support through this difficult time, the Ministry of External Affairs maintained. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also expressed deep sorrow over the disaster and conveyed India's condolences directly to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the State Administration Council and Prime Minister of Myanmar, reaffirming India's commitment to assisting Myanmar during this crisis. On April 4, Prime Minister Modi met Hlaing on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok and discussed the situation in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in the country, including India's ongoing efforts under Operation Brahma to provide humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and medical assistance to Myanmar. The Senior General had expressed his gratitude for India's assistance efforts. The Prime Minister conveyed that, as the first responder, India stands with Myanmar in this time of crisis and is ready to deploy more material assistance and resources.
