Agartala : Cargo service has been started again on Friday at Maharaja Bir Bikram airport in Agartala. The newly built Cargo Bhawan was inaugurated by Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury. The new cargo building of 1 thousand 272 square meters has been built at the cost of 17 crore rupees.

It is projected, total 40 thousand 150 MT goods could be transported per year, which is 10 times more in quantity than that in the past. The services will be primarily provided by Indigo airline. Transport Minister said, soon after taking over new responsibility, quick commencing of different services has been emphasized.

To achieve this very goal, the cargo service and prepaid auto services have been commenced today at the airport. The Minister thanked Indigo airline authority on providing such service and hoped that other airlines would also come forward for the same. He said, the businessmen of the state have had to face several difficulties. The Minister hoped that the recommencement of cargo service will benefit businessmen of the state.

Transport Minister also said, Tripura is surrounded by neighboring country Bangladesh on 3 sides. That is why, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized upon improving airways and railways from the start. He also said, if everything goes well, Agartala-Chittagong airline services will be commencing from the first week of June. Later, initiative will be taken to commence airline services directly from Agartala to Singapore, Bangkok, etc.

The Minister also said, as it was not easy to move Maharaja’s statue from the old airport, a new bronze statue of Maharaja Bir Bikram has been built at the cost of approx. 35 lakh rupees.

The Minister also said, the present government is continuing the flow of development for the sole purpose of public welfare. The new cargo building has facility for storage of perishable and non-perishable goods, hazardous goods and cold storage.