Bangladesh owes Rs 200 crore in power dues to Tripura but no decision has been taken yet on stopping power supply to the neighboring country, Chief Minister Manik Shah said on Monday.
Tripura supplies 60-70 MW of electricity to the neighboring country as per the agreement signed by Tripura State Vidyut Nigam Limited with Bangladesh Power Development Board through NTPC Vidyut Vidyut Nigam Limited.
‘Bangladesh has not paid about 200 million rupees for electricity supply. The outstanding (amount) is increasing every day. We hope they will clear their dues so that power supply is not interrupted,” Saha told PTI in an interview here.
He said that many pieces of machinery in the power generation plant in Tripura were brought from Bangladesh territory or Chittagong port. Hence, as a gesture of gratitude, the Tripura government started supplying electricity to the country after an agreement.
“But I don’t know how long we can continue to supply electricity if Bangladesh doesn’t pay dues,” he said.
Tripura started supplying electricity to Bangladesh in March 2016. The electricity is generated at state-owned ONGC Tripura Power Company’s (OTPC) gas-fired 726 MW power plant at Palatana in southern Tripura.
According to reports, Adani Power, which exports power to Bangladesh from its 1,600 MW Godda plant in Jharkhand, cut supply to 520 MW from around 1,400-1,500 MW in August due to non-payment of USD 800 million by the country.
When asked about the impact on Tripura due to reports on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, Shah said there was no major movement from neighboring countries to his state.
“But we are closely monitoring the border situation as the border is unsafe due to many holes. However, since the current upheaval started in that country in August, there has not been a large movement from Bangladesh so far,’ he said.
Tripura is bounded by Bangladesh on its north, south and west and its international border has a length of 856 km, which is 84 percent of its total border.
Commenting on the recent security breach at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, the Chief Minister said that he had taken strict action in the matter.
‘We have arrested many people involved in this. We have also taken action against the police who are in charge of the security of the vandalized premises,’ he said.
Shah said that after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh, business was affected and there was a significant decrease in the import of Bangladeshi goods in Tripura.
He said that cement, stone, hilsa fish are among the goods coming to Tripura from Bangladesh. “The supply has been disrupted. This is their loss,’ he said.
When asked about the communication network with Bangladesh, he said that if the railway line between Agartala and Dhaka is restored, it will be of great benefit to both countries.
“If Chittagong port is allowed to be used without any hindrance, the entire northeastern states will benefit significantly,” he said.
The direct road distance from Agartala to Chittagong port is about 175 km.
The rail line connecting Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh was inaugurated on November 1, 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
The length of the project is 5.46 km in India and 6.78 km in Bangladesh.
The Indian portion cost Rs 708.73 crore and was funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
The Bangladesh portion cost Rs 392.52 crore. The Bangladesh portion is funded by India’s Ministry of External Affairs and implemented by Bangladesh Railways.
If Bangladesh allows overland transport rights, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata is expected to reduce from around 30 hours to 10 hours.
The existing rail travel distance between the two cities is 1,581 km and requires re-routing via Guwahati and Lumding in Assam. It will be reduced to 460 km, officials said.
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