Tripura to become gateway to SE Asia once Maitri bridge opens: CM Saha

Noting that connectivity has "remarkably improved" in Tripura, where polls are due next year, Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said that the state will emerge as the gateway to Southeast Asia once the Maitri bridge, linking Sabroom with Bangladesh's Ramgarh, is thrown open for public.

Maitri bridge, over Feni river, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9 last year.

Located only 74 km away from Chittagong port, the bridge will opened to traffic once customs and immigration facilities are made available on the Bangladesh side by the Sheikh Hasina government, officials said.

Saha, after inaugurating Shehri Samridhi Utsav here, an exhibition by self-help groups, stated, "Tripura's future will turn brighter once the Maitri bridge is made operational. The northeastern state will soon become the gateway of India's corridor to Southeast Asian nations."

Asserting that connectivity has improved to a great extent in the state, over the past few years, the chief minist