‘There is an old road linking India and Myanmar through Chittagong, why cannot it be restored?’

Pranab: India wants to improve connectivity with South Asian countries Kolkata: India is looking at improving connectivity with South Asian countries and has called on Bangladesh to open its old road and river routes to Myanmar. There are plans to extend the Maitree Express, which runs between Kolkata and Dhaka, to Agartala. Inaugurating a conference here of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation-backed South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said: “There is an old road linking India and Myanmar through Chittagong [Bangladesh]; why cannot it be restored? What is stopping us? There is also a river route between Kolkata and Guwahati via Bangladesh. Why cannot that be restored?” Mr. Mukherjee emphasised the need for more “people-to-people” contacts to take... [read full story]