Maitri Setu

Indian Prime Minister inaugurated ‘Maitri Setu’ between India and Bangladesh.
Constructed by: National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd

About Maitri Setu:

It has been built over the Feni River, which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura and Bangladesh.
Length: It spans 1.9 kilometres joining Sabroom (in Tripura) with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
The name ‘Maitri Setu’ symbolises growing bilateral relations and friendly ties between India and Bangladesh.
The construction of the bridge has been overseen by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
It is a pre-stressed concrete bridge. It has a single-span structure that allows for the smooth flow of traffic and cargo.

Key Points

Constructed by and Cost:
- The construction was taken up by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd at a project cost of Rs. 133 crore.
  - The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited is a fully owned company of the Government of India.
  - It is responsible for development & maintenance of National Highways & Strategic Roads of India.
Significance:
- Now Agartala (capital of Tripura) will become the nearest city to an international sea port in India.
- Tripura will become the ‘Gateway of North East’ with access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh, which is just 80 km from Sabroom.
  - Bangladesh and India have a long standing and time-tested Protocol on Transit and Trade through inland waterways.
- It would serve as a new trade corridor between the two countries, helping the Northeast states grow. It will enhance people-to-people contact.

Connectivity Projects between India-Bangladesh

Both countries have realised that connectivity is the key to their prosperity. For India, Bangladesh is crucial to enhance its reach towards its north-eastern states.
At the same time, Bangladesh needs to have a conducive relationship with the largest of its two neighbours (the other one being Myanmar).
Therefore, both countries have opened previously closed links and have worked on identifying new ones.
Bangladesh has also expressed interest in joining the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway project.
Train links: Railways is a fast and cheap mode of transport, compared to inland shipping and roadways respectively. Therefore, it is important to invest in the improvement of rail connectivity, in order to achieve better trade connectivity and synergy between commerce in the two countries.
Apart from Chilahati-Haldibari, other rail links between India and Bangladesh are Petrapole (India) to Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (India) to Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India) to Rohanpur (Bangladesh) and Radhikapur (India) to Birol (Bangladesh).
- The Indo-Bangla railway connectivity project through Akhaura (Bangladesh) – Agartala (Tripura) would be completed by this March.
  - The 13 kilometres-long railway project would connect Bangladesh with India’s northeast and West Bengal through Nischintapur along the Indo-Bangla border to serve the purpose of trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Bus links: Roadways are important for faster connectivity and larger availability of choices for origins and destinations.
- The recently started bus services — Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati — will link West Bengal to three North-Eastern states of India via Bangladesh capital Dhaka.
Chittagong Port-Bangladesh has made the Chittagong port available to India for transporting goods to the north-eastern states of India.
- This will be a huge factor in the economic progress of the Indian territory of the north-east, by slashing both time and distance required to transport goods.

MCQs about Maitri Setu

Question 1: What is the name of the bridge inaugurated between India and Bangladesh recently?

a) Bandhan Setu
b) Shanti Setu
c) Maitri Setu
d) Samriddhi Setu

Question 2: Over which river has the Maitri Setu been built?

a) Ganges
b) Brahmaputra
c) Yamuna
d) Feni

Question 3: What is the total length of the Maitri Setu?

a) 1.2 kilometers
b) 1.5 kilometers
c) 1.9 kilometers
d) 2.2 kilometers

Question 4: Which organization oversaw the construction of the Maitri Setu?

a) Indian Railways
b) Ministry of Transport and Highways
c) National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd
d) Border Security Force

Question 5: What does the name “Maitri Setu” symbolize?

a) Strong infrastructure
b) Bilateral trade
c) Friendly ties between India and Bangladesh
d) Cultural exchange