Sonamura-Daudkandi Inland Waterway Route between India and Bangladesh

News: The Sonamura-Daudkandi inland waterway route between India and Bangladesh has been operationalised.

Facts:

• Sonamura-Daudkandi Route: It is an inland waterway route over river Gumati that was included in the list of Indo-Bangla Protocol (IBP) routes in May 2020.
  • Daudkandi is in Bangladesh while Sonamura is in Tripura,India.
• Significance of the route: It will improve the connectivity of Tripura and the adjoining States with Indian and Bangladesh’s economic centers and will help the hinterland of both the countries.

Additional Facts:

• Indo-Bangladesh Protocol: It is an Inland Water Transit & Trade exists between India and Bangladesh under which inland vessels of one country can transit through the specified routes of the other country. 
  • The existing protocol routes are: Kolkata-Pandu-Kolkata, Kolkata-Karimganj -Kolkata, Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi, Pandu-Karimganj-Pandu among others.
• River Gumati(Gumti): It is the largest and longest river of Tripura with cumulative length of 180 km.It is also considered a sacred river and devotees converge along its banks at Tirthmukh every Makar Sankranti.