Maitri Setu in Tripura-Bangladesh Border to Be Opened on Sept 1

The third integrated checkpoint (ICP), which will be located in Sabroom, Tripura, India, will open on September 1 along with the much-anticipated Maitri Setu friendship bridge between India and Bangladesh.

The Times of India, citing unnamed government sources, said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually launch the Sabroom ICP while she is expected to visit India. 

On March 9, 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi effectively launched the India-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge (Maitri Setu) over the Feni River. However, automobiles were not given access to the bridge.

The third ICP will open up new routes for trade and communication between northeast India and South East Asia, according to South Tripura district magistrate Saju Waheed A.

He met with representatives from the Landport Authority of India, the BSF, the State Electricity Corporation, and the sanitation department to discuss the planning and completion of the work as well as what was still needed to open the immigration counter. He then paid a visit to the area.

For the sake of facilitating cross-border travel beginning on September 1, "we are working on a proposal to open an immigration counter at Maitri Setu. There won't be any cargo movement at first, but passenger transportation through Sabroom using Maitri Setu will commence. Gradually, once the infrastructure is completely established and the system is stable, the movement of products and freight will begin.

In order to facilitate travel between the two nations, it was decided that jawans from the 126th BSF unit would safeguard the Indian side while the 96th BGB battalion would defend the Bangladesh side.

Travel from the southern areas of Bangladesh, including Cox's Bazar and Chattogram Hill Tracts, to India via Tripura and international freight from Chattogram seaport would be made easier by Maitri Setu.

According to Saju, two ICPs, Akhaura (Agartala) and Srimantapur (Sonamura), which are easily connected to the central part of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, currently allow travelers from Bangladesh and Tripura to travel over an 80-kilometer distance by road from Sabroom, the southernmost point of India's Tripura, to Chittagong port.