The sudden collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh has cast a shadow on key connectivity and trade projects in Tripura, which is likely to have far-reaching implications on the northeastern state's growth engine in the year ahead.
Dark clouds of uncertainty loom large on the fate of 'Maitri Setu' (friendship bridge), built over River Feni in South Tripura's Sabroom sub-division, despite its joint inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his the then Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, in March 2021.
The 1.9-km-long bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 133 crore, promises a shorter and more economical alternate connectivity between the Northeast and Kolkata via Chittagong and Mongla ports in Bangladesh with Sabroom as a gateway to the Southeast Asian nations.
However, barely days before passenger movement between India and Bangladesh through the bridge was scheduled to be flagged off, a deadly student uprising in August threw the country into disarray and ..