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Emotions run high as Indo-Bangla rail link is commissioned

Rifat Jawaid on the Indo-Bangladesh border

Politicians from India and Bangladesh turned nostalgic, and common folk on both sides of the border thronged in their thousands to witness the historic flagging-off ceremony of the first freight train between the two countries on Sunday.

The occasion also marked the commissioning of the Petropole(India)-Benapole(Bangladesh) international railway link.

Unprecedented jubilation was evident as soon as Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee pressed the button to officially commission the rail link between India and Bangladesh. The crowds, gathered in thousands on both sides of the border, welcomed the development enthusiastically.

Mamata, accompanied by Bangladesh Communication Minister Anwar Hussain Manjoo and the director general of Bangladesh Railways, MA Rahim, arrived at the Petropole border at 1300 IST. After an impressive and colourful folk dance presentation by Mamata Shanker and her ballet troupe, which left the audience mesmerised, and customary speeches, Mamata formally commissioned the newly established international rail link.

While the Eastern Railway higher-ups said the newly established rail link would shorten the distance between the two points by at least 35 km compared to the existing Gede-Darshana route, many felt the resumption of the rail link would help curb the flourishing illegal trade through the porous Indo-Bangladesh border.

"Nawapara is the biggest freight terminal in Bangladesh. The new rail link will give a big fillip to future trade between India and Bangladesh. Now even those indulging in illegal trading would be encouraged to transport their goods using the freight trains," an ER spokesperson added.

The rail link between India and Bangladesh has been an old affair. The first link was established in 1923 when trains ran from Bangaon and Jessore in India to Benapole in Bangladesh. However, the route had to be closed following the Indo-Pak war in 1965. Though it was reopened after India helped the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, the rail route remained non-functional since the volume of traffic dwindled to non-viable proportions. Despite signing a treaty in July 2000, the authorities in both countries failed to start the train service following the large-scale destruction by floods in both countries last year.

Adding that an estimated Rs 55 million has been spent on the rail network between Petrapole and Benapole, Mamata said she had repaid an old loan she owed to the Bengali people on both sides of the border.

In a choked voice she said, "There is virtually nothing that is different between the two people except an international border. We speak the same language, wear similar clothes and are passionate for the same Bengali food. Even the national anthems of both countries are composed by the same man, Rabindranath Tagore. Therefore, it's always been my desire to lessen the distance between the people of these two lands."

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