India allows B'desh to lay cable through Tinbigha Corridor

I / Dhaka February 23, 2010, 13:53 IST

India has allowed Bangladesh to install electric cables through a 178-metre Indian corridor to provide power supply to Dahogram-Angarpota enclaves, officials said here today.

They said the Indian consent came at a meeting between district magistrates of Koochbehar and northwestern Lalmonirhat late yesterday.

The two sides agreed to install underground cables through the Tinbigha Corridor from March 1 for power supply to Dahogram-Angarpota enclaves in Bangladesh.

A private business firm of Bangladesh will set up the cable network, engaging 30 workers for the first two days and 21 workers for the remaining days of the work. The installation has to be completed by March 16.

"The Indian side assured of extending all possible cooperation for reaching electricity to the 15,000 Bangladeshis in Dahogram-Angarpota," an official familiar with the meeting said.

An official of the state-run Power Development Board told PTI in Dhaka that necessary infrastructure has already been installed and the connection of the cable line would enable them to supply the power instantly.

India in 1992 opened the corridor for six hours daily for movement to mainland Bangladesh and later extended it to 12 hours everyday.