Chicken Neck Bypass: The Indian government is going to expand the rail network through Bangladesh to gain strong access to the northeastern states of the country. Now protests have started in Bangladesh against this issue. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has expressed great concern about this issue. During a press conference at the Nayapaltan Central Office, the party’s joint general secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, this initiative will weaken the country’s intelligence system.
Rizvi said, ‘There are reports in the media that railway tracks will be laid in Bangladesh to connect Indian Railways with the rest of the Northeast. This railway line will bypass the Siliguri Corridor i.e. ‘Chicken Neck’. He said that the Indian Railway Board has taken the initiative to build a rail network to transport Indian military and civilian goods through Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi leader blames India
The BNP leader said, ‘Certainly these things are happening with the permission of Bangladesh’s ‘dummy government’. This is worrying. We strongly oppose such initiatives.’ He said India is killing Bangladeshis on the border every day and is disregarding the human rights and humanity of Bangladeshis. If India sends military and civilian goods to its northeast through Bangladesh, then this will reduce the sovereignty of the country. During this, the BNP leader accused Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of having a secret agreement with India to remain in power. He termed the relationship between India and Bangladesh as ‘master and servant’.
Bangladesh gave permission in the year 1992
Actually, the Siliguri Corridor (Chicken Neck) is only 22 kilometers wide and connects India’s mainland to the northeastern states. Bangladesh is on one side of this corridor and Nepal is on the other. The Indian government has planned to bypass this corridor. Under this, Indian Railways will connect the northeastern states by laying a new railway line in Bangladesh. Under the India-Bangladesh Trade Agreement 1980, Bangladesh allowed India to use the Teen Bigha Corridor in the year 1992.
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