How India will bypass Bangladesh roads and roadblocks
New Delhi seems to be hitting back at Dhaka, after Bangladesh's interim government chief, Muhammad Yunus, brought up India's "landlocked" north-east during his visit to China. While India has restricted some Bangladeshi exports into India through land routes, it is also working to revive an alternative multi-modal corridor to connect the Seven Sisters, bypassing Dhaka.Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August 2024, India has faced a not-so-friendly Bangladesh. That's because forces that thought India helped the Hasina regime filled the power vacuum.advertisementLeaders, including Muhammad Yunus, have made remarks inimical to the long-standing ties between the two countries, and the remarks on the northeast states were the latest in that series. The interim government hasn't acted against the extremist anti-India voices that have gained mainstream space since Hasina's departure.
India's move to restrict the import of Bangladeshi goods, including its prized garments, comes after New Delhi in April scrapped a transshipment agreement that had allowed Bangladeshi goods to pass through India for export to third countries.As a result, as many as 36 trucks loaded with garments worth Rs 5.5 crore have been left stranded at the Benapole border, reported the Dhaka Tribune.Simultaneously, India has accelerated work on the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), aimed at connecting Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar's Sittwe Port. The project, which significantly shortens the distance between Kolkata and the Northeast states, is partially complete, with the Indian government now stepping up efforts to finish the remaining segments. advertisementINDIA RESTRICTS TRADE WITH BANGLADESHIn April, India terminated a 2020 transshipment agreement that allowed Bangladeshi exports, particularly garments, to be routed through Indian territory to third countries.India, last week, also imposed restrictions on Bangladeshi goods via land ports. This is likely to impact goods worth $770 million, about 42% of total bilateral imports, according to a Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), reported news agency ANI.While these measures are yielding results, India is also focusing on long-term strategies to bypass Bangladesh and directly connecting its northeastern states with the rest of the country, as Dhaka appears to be visibly tilting towards an expansionist China.For now, the narrow Siliguri Corridor, referred to as the Chicken's Neck, is the only land route connecting the Northeast of India to the rest of the country. All other land routes pass via Bangladesh.India has long been wary of China's growing influence in South Asia, including in Bangladesh, where Beijing is expanding its footprint through infrastructure projects under the "debt-trapping" Belt and Road Initiative.INDIAN SIDE OF KALADAN PROJECT COMPLETE: MIZORAM GUV VK SINGHAt the heart of India's strategy to bypass Bangladesh is the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), a $500-million initiative to connect Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar.advertisementOn April 25, Mizoram Governor General VK Singh announced that construction of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project had been completed on the Indian side, reported The Times of India.The greenfield Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor, approved by the Union Cabinet last week, is poised to enhance the KMMTTP by extending the route from Mizoram's Aizawl into other parts of the Northeast, including central Assam and Shillong in Meghalya."It [Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor] will become a major connectivity link for the entire Northeast and an important milestone for developing the region as a gateway for India's Act East Policy," an official of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), told The Indian Express newspaper.The NHIDCL is the implementing body of the Kaladan project.
The current road route between Silchar and Shillong is 210 km and takes over 8 hours; the new high-speed highway will reduce the distance by 31 km and cut travel time by over 3 hours. (Image: Google Maps)
"With the help of the Kaladan project, cargo will reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the Northeast, without being dependent on Bangladesh. The high-speed corridor will ensure transportation of goods via road after that, which will spur economic activity in the region," the NHIDCL official added.advertisementThe Shillong-Silchar high-speed corridor will be extended to Mizoram's Zorinpuri, where the KMMTTP project route enters India, before terminating in the capital city of Aizawl, said the Indian Express report.In December 2024, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the KMMTTP was expected to be completed by July 2025, reported The Assam Tribune.This route would not only bypass the rail and road routes from Kolkata to Northeast India through Bangladesh, but would also help in eliminating the need to move goods through the narrow Siliguri Corridor.
The Chicken's Neck is a narrow 22-km-wide strategic corridor in West Bengal that connects the northeastern states to the rest of India. (File Image)
WHAT'S KALADAN PROJECT AND HOW IT WILL BYPASS BANGLADESHThe KMMTTP, a multimodal project jointly conceived by India and Myanmar in 2008, combines maritime, riverine, and road transport.advertisementCurrently, goods and people travel between Kolkata and the northeastern states either through the longer Siliguri Corridor or via Bangladesh. The Bangladesh route includes road and rail links from Kolkata to Dhaka, as well as the Akhaura-Agartala connectivity by both road and rail.Thus, the KMMTTP, in present circumstances, could offer a much shorter route than the one via the Siliguri Corridor.The KMMTTP, once complete, would first enable ships to travel from Kolkata to Sittwe Port in Myanmar's Rakhine State, initially on the Hooghly River and then through the Bay of Bengal. From Sittwe, goods would be transported via the Kaladan River to Paletwa town in Chin State.From Paletwa, a 109-km road would lead to the town of Zorinpui on the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram. Once completed, the KMMTTP will reduce travel time and distance between Kolkata and the Northeast considerably, compared to the current route through Bangladesh.Civil works on the Indian stretch and the construction of Sittwe Port, the river terminal at Paletwa, and dredging of the Kaladan River, have been completed, according to a December 2024 piece in The Week magazine. The completion on the Indian side has also been confirmed by Mizoram Governor General VK Singh.
A map showing the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, connecting Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar through sea, river, and road routes. (Image: India Today/ Vipul Kumar)
advertisementIn February 2022, IRCON, a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, was appointed as the implementing agency for the construction of the 109-km road from Paletwa to Zorinpui, reported the PSU Watch news portal.However, due to political instability, logistical challenges, and security concerns in Myanmar's Rakhine State, the road between Myanmar's Paletwa and Mizoram's Zorinpui remains unfinished.It was in fact the town of Paletwa that has witnessed intense fighting amid Myanmar's civil war, with the military junta locked in a violent armed conflict against the Arakan Army.Despite these roadblocks, a recent statement made by Abhay Thakur, India's Ambassador to Myanmar, in April 2025 suggests that work is underway on the incomplete Myanmar section of the Kaladan project, and there is hope that it is moving towards completion."Myanmar, under the framework of both the 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East' policies, is an important developmental partner of India. To begin with, we are engaged in several strategically significant projects, including the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and the India-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project," Thakur told news agency ANI.With Bangladesh courting China and India tightening the trade screws, the Kaladan Project is not a detour, but a major diplomatic flex of New Delhi. With the completion of the Kaladan project, India would not just create a new route to the northeast but also open a road to development in the region, despite all the challenges.Must Watch
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