Syllabus:
GS2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Context:
After Bangladeshi interim leader Muhammad Yunus referred to India’s “landlocked” Northeast during a China visit, India responded by restricting Bangladeshi exports and fast-tracking alternative connectivity plans for the Northeast, bypassing Bangladesh.
More on the News
• 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.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has approved a 166.8-km four-lane highway from Shillong to Silchar.
o This highway will eventually extend to Zorinpui in Mizoram and integrate with the KMMTTP.
o The goal is to link it with a high-speed road corridor traversing the Northeast.
• 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).
• 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.
The Kaladan Project
• The Kaladan project, conceived in 2008, it will connect Kolkata Port to Mizoram via Myanmar’s Sittwe Port.
• Seen as a critical component of India’s Look East / Act East Policy.
Key Features
• Aim: To create a multi-modal transit corridor from Kolkata (India) to Mizoram via Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
Benefits:
o It will reduces the Kolkata-Mizoram distance by approximately 1,000 km.
o It will saves 3–4 days of transit time.
• As described by Sripriya Ranganathan (MEA, 2014): “A win-win project providing India access to its Northeast and infrastructure benefits to Myanmar’s underdeveloped Rakhine State.”
Project Components (Multi-Modal Transport)
• Kolkata to Sittwe (539 km by sea)
o Ships traverse via the Bay of Bengal.
o Sittwe port has been upgraded with Indian investment — this section is complete.
• Sittwe to Paletwa (158 km by river)
o Navigable route along the Kaladan River.
o Includes dredging and jetties to handle 300-tonne barges — completed.
• Paletwa to Zorinpui (108 km by road)
o Final leg within Myanmar.
o Myanmar has approved construction.
o Integrated Customs & Immigration Checkpost at Zochawchhuah-Zorinpui has been operational since 2017.
o However, the last 50 km stretch remains incomplete.
• Zorinpui to Aizawl & Beyond (by road)
o Road connectivity exists between Zorinpui and Aizawl.
o National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) aims to link this to the Shillong–Silchar corridor for seamless connectivity.