Sep 01: First meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional cooperation transport Ministers chaired by T R Baalu (held in New Delhi) recommended various projects for the connectivity of SAARC nations by road, rail, water and airways. They also considered the report of the SAARC regional Multi-Modal Transport Study prepared and funded by Asian Development Bank.
The need for the connectivity among the regional countries was realized in 2004 Islamabad summit. SAARC nations put stress on rail-connectivity and enhancement of air connectivity. T R Baalu said that there should be a focussed list of road, rail, water and aviation corridors which could be easily constructed. He emphasised the connectivity of SAARC capitals.
India and Bhutan and Sri Lanka have proposed nine sub-regional and regional projects including a rail corridor between Colombo and Chennai, ferry service between Colombo and Kochin and Colombo and Tuticorin. Apart from this air-corridor between Male- New Delhi and New Delhi-Islamabad has also been recommended.
According to the SAARC road map, 6,540 km of rail network and 11,844 km of road network would unleash physical as well as economic connectivity of about 1.5 billion people of the region.
The road corridor to be upgraded is a highway from Lahore to Agartala which would pass through Delhi, Kolkata and Dhaka. Second connecting road would run from Kathmandu to Kolkata which would pass through Birgunj ( Nepal) and Katihar ( Bihar). Then a network of Thimpu to Kolkata passing through Phuentsholing ( Bhutan)/Jaigon ( India) border will be established for improving customs clearance and other physical facilities.
Other road networks include roads connecting north-eastern states of India to other countries such as between Chittagong ( Bangladesh) and Tripura, Agartala-Akhaura-Chittagong, Samudrupjongkhar-Kolkata road. Road corridors are also being worked out to connect Nepal to Pakistan. Among others are Thimpu-Chittagong road Kathmandu-Lucknow road.
Proposed road and rail networks not only help ending decades old isolation of north-eastern states of India but also boost intra-regional trade for availability of infrastructure for easy transport of goods, services and other things.
Vision of the SAARC countries to build South Asian community which may have a smooth exchange of goods, services, people, technology, knowledge, capital, culture and ideas may come true. People of the region may come closer and turn South Asia into another Europe by such efforts.
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