Agartala, April 16

The Tourism Ministry has sanctioned Rs 18-crore project for the Tripura government to create a variety of infrastructure along the India-Bangladesh border similar to that at the Attari-Wagah border with Pakistan, a state minister said.“Wagah-like infrastructure, including a mini-stadium, will be created at the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) border to organise a Beating the Retreat ceremony like that at the Wagah border with Pakistan” Tripura’s Tourism Minister Ratan Bhowmik said. He said the Union Tourism Ministry recently sanctioned Rs 18 crore and 20 per cent of the sanctioned funds have already been released for the project.“Under the Tourism Ministry’s ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme, the Centre sanctioned Rs 99 crore for Tripura to implement several tourism projects in the state. The Rs 99 crore ambitious project includes building of a mini-stadium, open theatre, cafeteria and other infrastructure at the Agartala-Akhaura border at a cost of Rs 18 crore,” he said.The Tripura government’s Public Works Department (PWD) will execute the project.The Agartala-Akhaura checkpost is the second largest trading point between India and Bangladesh after the Benapole-Petrapole post with West Bengal.The Beating the Retreat ceremony, which marks the closing of the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar every evening, is a military routine that the India-Pakistan border guards —the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers — have jointly conducted since 1959.People travel specially to the border to witness the ceremony in which the flags of the two countries are lowered by security personnel with a number of aggressive gestures and a mutually coordinated performance.“To build a Wagah-like infrastructure at the Agartala-Akhaura border, official-level meetings between Bangladesh and India were held and the Bangladesh government has no objection to the project,” Bhowmik said.“However, the Bangladesh government has not yet taken any decision to make a similar infrastructure on their side at Akhaura. The Agartala-Akhaura border is not only a big trading point between India and Bangladesh. It is also an important tourist spot,” he added. — IANS