Agartala : The Ministry of Civil Aviation has proposed that three Northeastern state capitals – Agartala, Imphal and Guwahati would be connected with eight cities of South and Southeast Asia, and the tender and expression of interest would be sought from the interested airline companies shortly, officials said on Sunday.
According to a report, the central government has proposed to start flight operations on Agartala-Dhaka, Agartala-Chittagong, Guwahati-Bangkok, Guwahati-Kathmandu, Guwahati-Yangon, Guwahati-Hanoi,Imphal-Mandalay, Imphal-Bangkok and Imphal-Kunming routes under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik). The Ministry has also proposed to connect Bhubaneswar with Singapore, Bangkok and Abu Dhabi under UDAN.
The northeastern states have been demanding air connectivity with the South and Southeast Asian cities to build a regional tourism and trade circuit among the countries. The frequency of flights, timings and the airlines has not yet been decided, but there are indications the entire process would be completed within the next six months. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, taking to his Twitter handle on Saturday, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia for the initiative to extend regional connectivity with neighbouring counties and said, “Finally, MBB Airport in Agartala is now set to have international flight service with Dhaka and Chittagong. My heartfelt thanks to Modi ji and Scindia ji for this initiative to fulfill the dream of the people of Tripura.”
“The proposed international flight service with Bangladesh will surely boost Tripura’s tourism and take the state to a new height in terms of air connectivity. It will also benefit the people of Bangladesh in various ways and strengthen the cordial relation between the two countries,” Deb added. According to Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials, on average 500 Bangladeshi nationals have been travelling to various Indian cities mostly for medical purposes and business everyday from Agartala and direct connectivity between Agartala, Dhaka and Chittagong would facilitate hassle-free passenger movement among the destinations, which would multiply the volume of bilateral trade.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.