Agartala/IBNS: The government of Tripura is optimistic that air transportation between the state and Bangladesh will commence in the near future.

“We are hoping that flights connecting Agartala and Chittagong (in Bangladesh) will begin soon,” stated Tripura transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury, reported Northeast Now.

The Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), G Kishan Reddy, recently announced that the Agartala-Akhaura railway project is in an advanced stage.

Additionally, the Tripura government requested the central government last month to deploy a sufficient number of personnel from the central industrial security force (CISF) to operate the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) airport in Agartala round the clock.

The government of Tripura wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting the deployment of an adequate number of CISF personnel at the MBB airport in Agartala to enable night-time landing of aircraft and extend the airport's services to 24x7.

Tripura Minister, Sushanta Chowdhury said, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has constructed one of the most modern airports in the country in Agartala, equipped with all the latest facilities.

However, due to a shortage of security personnel and fire service crews, the airport is not yet functional round the clock. The issue has been taken up with both the Ministry of Home Affairs and Civil Aviation.

To operate the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) airport in Agartala 24x7, it would require a minimum of 342 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and a team of fire service crew.

At present, the MBB airport in Agartala has only 230 CISF personnel, which is insufficient to operate the airport 24x7.

The Tripura Minister stated that a shortage of 112 CISF personnel was the main cause of the airport's inability to extend its services beyond the specified hours.

“If night landing begins, Agartala airport can facilitate the emergency landing of any flight in case of an emergency and airlines can also extend their service at night like other cities,” stated Tripura minister.

“At present, the first flight moves out of Agartala at 9 am and the last flight reaches at 8.30 PM.”

“There is no flight service at night despite Tripura being mainly dependent on aviation connectivity," added the Tripura minister.