Agartala, May 18, 2023: A special delegation of Indian Government’s “Security Audit Team” visited Tripura’s Muhurighat Land Customs Station and Sabroom Integrated Check Post under southern district for inquiring various works related to station’s infrastructure, passengers’ arrival and departure status with passports, border security arrangement status, Maitri Bridge (Friendship Bridge), Integrated Check Post, etc.

The special delegation from New Delhi comprising of 12 members including Vinayak Azad, Additional Secretary (IRS), Sami Ahmed Khan Deputy Secretary of NHIDCL, Sanjib Sharma, Regional Officer (NH IDCL), Harpit Singh, Joint Director of the Ministry of DoNER, etc. The delegation is accompanied by Land Port Authority of India, Tripura Branch Manager Debasish Nandy, former MLA Shankar Roy, along with official representatives from Land and Customs.

The high-level delegation led by Additional Secretary Vinayak Azad from New Delhi, sat at Belonia Customs office and inquired about the overall situation of Muhurighat Land Customs Station in detail on Thursday.

However, local people are of the view that there has been no development of Muhurighat Land Customs Station and at different times, high officials from Tripura and New Delhi and even joint delegations from India and Bangladesh visiting this Land Customs Station, but the overall infrastructure is alleged to be left as it is.

Sources said that despite the central allocation of Rs 11 crore for modernizing the overall infrastructure of the Muhurighat Land Customs Station many years back, the work has not yet materialized. Once the work was stopped due to obstruction from the Border Guard of Bangladesh. Since then the work has stopped and has not started again.

It has been reported that Bangladesh has agreed to this issue in the India-Bangladesh talks. A few days back, after the delegation of the two countries visited Tripura, Bangladesh Commerce Minister visited Muhurighat LCS. At that time, the District Magistrate of South Tripura District informed about the entire infrastructure of Muhurighat LCS.

Thereafter, the delegation of the security audit team of the Government of India came to Sabroom. The delegation concluded the discussion at the interim camp of Maitri Setu. Later they visited various projects of Land and Customs under construction.

Speaking to media personnel, Additional Secretary (IRS) Vinayak Azad, said that he is mainly coming to look into the issues related to the security system and services of the land port. He also said that India is looking at the security system of various points of Bangladesh and they are losing.

In this regard, Land Port of India, Government of Tripura General Manager Debashis Nandy said that Land Port of India also acquired 54 acres of land here in 2018. About 60 percent of ICP construction work is complete. It is expected that the construction of ICB will be completed by this year. Today, the final issue of ICB construction was discussed through a joint meeting with the Special Security Audit Team of the Government of India. All in all, Maitri Setu is open now waiting for time.

The high-level delegation from Delhi on Thursday visited Srimantapur in Sonamura sub-division under Sepahijala district and returned to Agartala.