September 27, 2022
2 mins read

3-day India-Bangladesh festival to be held in October

Chief Ministers of north-eastern states and several Union Ministers along with foreign delegates are expected to attend the festival…reports Asian Lite News

To commemorate India’s ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and Bangladesh’s golden jubilee of independence, a three-day Silchar-Sylhet festival has been planned to be organised in Assam’s Silchar town from October 29-31.

India Foundation, in association with ‘Friends of Bangladesh’, an organisation working to develop Bangladesh’s relations with its neighbourhood, is the joint organiser of the three-day event.

Chief Ministers of north-eastern states and several Union Ministers along with foreign delegates are expected to attend the festival.

BJP MP from Silchar, Rajdeep Roy said that this will be the first grand inter-country festival to be held in Assam to mark the country’s 75 years of independence.

“In the sideline to the event, we will address the issues related to both countries, including trade and commerce, river sharing, apart from intermixing of art, culture and food,” he added.

The organisers have claimed that as Sylhet was partitioned in 1947 from India, the event will act to bridge the gap between the two countries.

Roy said that nearly 10 Bangladesh MPs and a few Ministers are also expected to attend the three-day event.

Major General (retd) of Bangladesh, Samsul Arfin has come to India to look after the things related to organising this major event and said that the festival will further strengthen the ties between India and Bangladesh.

He said: “Sylhet was once a part of Assam and we are hoping to witness the old connection between the two places once again during the festival.”

Improving physical linkages

India has been working on infrastructure on either side of the border. In March 2021, the Prime Ministers of the two countries inaugurated the Maitri Setu, a bridge built over the Feni River, which has reduced the distance between Sabroom in southern Tripura and the Chittagong port to just 111 km.

The government is working on a multi-modal transit hub at Sabroom inclusive of road and rail connectivity that can help goods reach the Chittagong port in a few hours. Road connectivity in Meghalaya’s Dawki, southern Assam’s Sutarkandi and Tripura’s Akhaura linking eastern and south-eastern Bangladesh is also being improved.

Mizoram is keen on bridges across the Khawthlangtuipui river (Karnaphuli in Bangladesh) for faster access to the Chittagong port. Apart from the India-Bangladesh Protocol Route involving the Brahmaputra, cargo ships from Bangladesh have reached Tripura through the Gomati River and Assam’s Karimganj via the Kushiara River.

In June this year, the Mitali Express, a train running bi-weekly from New Jalpaiguri in northern West Bengal’s North Bengal region to the capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, began its maiden journey.

Due to the pandemic, it was delayed by 14 months following its virtual inauguration in March 2021.

By connecting Bangladesh with North Bengal, the Mitali Express facilitates travel for Bangladeshi tourists to favoured Indian destinations like Darjeeling, Dooars, and Sikkim. It, therefore, opens up more opportunities to establish robust people-to-people connections.

ALSO READ: New York protest demands recognition of 1971 Bangladesh genocide

Previous Story

Violence-hit Helmand residents seek financial aid

Next Story

Death toll in Bangladesh boat capsize mounts to 51

Latest from -Top News

Pakistan Faces Rising Uprisings

Officials warn that Pakistan cannot continue suppressing such protests by force indefinitely. A breaking point, they say, is inevitable — when the growing discontent converges into a major challenge for the establishment

‘A Day to Rejoice’

In its statement, British Friends of Israel saluted the courage and resilience of the hostages and expressed deep sorrow for those who did not survive captivity After 737 days of anguish, the

UK to Lead Gaza Rebuild

PM announces an additional £20 million aid package aimed at providing essential water, sanitation and hygiene services to tens of thousands of people Prime Minister Keir Starmer attended the signing ceremony of

UN Faces Crisis, Says Rajnath

Rajnath Singh said India recognises that the success of peacekeeping depends not only on numbers but on preparedness….reports Asian Lite News Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday highlighted the urgent need for

UK to host summit on Gaza recovery plan

The three-day conference, beginning Monday afternoon, will take place at Wilton Park, the Foreign Office’s policy forum based in West Sussex The UK will host an international summit on the recovery and
Go toTop

Don't Miss

India provides 50 more buses to Lanka

So far, India has handed over 165 buses as the

Report claims China lost 42 soldiers in Galwan Valley clash

Report by an Australian newspaper, The Klaxon, claims that its