Agartala: Taking up the demand for land from Bangladesh to expand the Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya (MBB) International Airport here a step ahead, chief minister Biplab Deb on Wednesday said he has approached the external affairs ministry to facilitate the arrangement.
The 509-acre airport lies right next to the barbed wire fence separating India and Bangladesh. There is no room for expansion on the Indian side of the border. The government wants a kilometre-long stretch on the other side of the fence. In March this year, a verbal proposal regarding this was made by the Indian foreign ministry to its counterparts in Bangladesh. Indian officials were then asked to send a written proposal, which is yet to materialize, sources said.
"The ministry of external affairs is requested to take up the matter with Bangladesh to allocate a piece of land in Brahmanbaria district of the neighbouring country to build an extended runway for the airport. This would allow the airport to operate large aircraft in accordance with international standards," Deb told the media.
The arrangement, if worked out, would be unusual, but not the first. "There are airports situated on the borders of two or even three countries. One such is Geneva International Airport, situated both in Switzerland and France. However, the context in South Asia cannot be compared to that of Europe because of immigration procedure, currency and politics. But it is possible," professor Satyadeo Poddar, senior professor of history at Tripura University, said. "If Bangladesh agrees to provide land for the Agartala airport, issues of security, sovereignty and commercial viability would have to be settled mutually," he added.
08/08/19 Biswendu Bhattacharjee/Times of India
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The 509-acre airport lies right next to the barbed wire fence separating India and Bangladesh. There is no room for expansion on the Indian side of the border. The government wants a kilometre-long stretch on the other side of the fence. In March this year, a verbal proposal regarding this was made by the Indian foreign ministry to its counterparts in Bangladesh. Indian officials were then asked to send a written proposal, which is yet to materialize, sources said.
"The ministry of external affairs is requested to take up the matter with Bangladesh to allocate a piece of land in Brahmanbaria district of the neighbouring country to build an extended runway for the airport. This would allow the airport to operate large aircraft in accordance with international standards," Deb told the media.
The arrangement, if worked out, would be unusual, but not the first. "There are airports situated on the borders of two or even three countries. One such is Geneva International Airport, situated both in Switzerland and France. However, the context in South Asia cannot be compared to that of Europe because of immigration procedure, currency and politics. But it is possible," professor Satyadeo Poddar, senior professor of history at Tripura University, said. "If Bangladesh agrees to provide land for the Agartala airport, issues of security, sovereignty and commercial viability would have to be settled mutually," he added.
08/08/19 Biswendu Bhattacharjee/Times of India
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