TWO STEEL CHIMNEYS and plumes of smoke. Pictures of nuclear power plants rarely make for good PR. But in Dhaka, the norms are different. As you step out of the airport, pictures of the Rooppur nuclear power plant greet you from the elevated metro towers. Along with the Padma bridge, the nuclear plant, too, represents Bangladesh’s growing aspirations.
The 1,200MW power plant being built in Rooppur is a trilateral project supported by Russia and India. It is the first nuclear plant in Bangladesh and the first to be constructed by India abroad. It is expected to be fully operational by 2027.
The Rooppur plant is just one among the multiple infrastructure projects in which India has joined hands with Bangladesh. On November 1, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina reiterated the importance of the burgeoning relationship by relaunching the Akhaura-Agartala railway line via videoconferencing. Modi said India was proud of being Bangladesh’s biggest development partner. The two leaders also inaugurated the Khulna-Mongla Port railway line and unit II of the Maitree superthermal power project. The Khulna-Mongla link is a 65km broad-gauge line connecting Bangladesh’s second largest port Mongla with the existing line in Khulna, the third largest city in Bangladesh, offering eastern India better sea access.
The reopening of the rail link with Bangladesh will help India overcome the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ problem in the northeast—the Siliguri corridor that connects it to the mainland. It will reduce the distance between Agartala and Kolkata from 1,600km to 500km.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
