Barak Valley overlooked at Advantage Assam 2.0, says Trinamool’s Susmita Dev

Silchar, March 3: Rajya Sabha MP and senior All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader Susmita Dev has criticised the Assam government for failing to showcase Barak Valley’s trade potential at the recently concluded Advantage Assam 2.0.

Despite the state securing investment commitments worth nearly ₹5 lakh crore, she alleged that Barak Valley’s strategic position for trade with Southeast Asia was ignored.

"Countries like Myanmar and Thailand lie south of Assam, and if the state aims to expand business with Southeast Asian nations, Silchar, due to its geographical proximity, serves as the ideal routing point," Dev said on Sunday.

While acknowledging that trade with Bangladesh could be facilitated through Dhubri via Bongaigaon, she argued that Barak Valley holds a more advantageous position due to its access to ports in Chittagong and Myanmar.

"However, there seems to be no vision for such initiatives," she added, urging Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to recognise the valley’s economic potential.

Dev stressed the need to address Barak Valley’s locational disadvantages through increased transport subsidies and the establishment of manufacturing industries.

She reiterated the importance of public sector involvement in the region’s economic growth, citing the closure of Cachar Paper Mill as a "historic blunder”.

She suggested that the now-defunct mill premises could have been repurposed for a biogas industry, which would have been more beneficial for the region.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, Dev recalled that former Chief Minister and current Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had promised a Multimodal Logistics Park (MMLP) in Barak Valley, a promise that remains unfulfilled.

She also highlighted the poor condition of the Silchar-Aizawl road, which she said hampers trade with Myanmar.

While thanking Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, for announcing the ₹25,000 crore high-speed roadway project connecting Silchar to Guwahati via Panchgram and Barapani in Meghalaya, Dev claimed that the project primarily benefits cement industries in Meghalaya rather than Barak Valley’s overall trade prospects.

She also recalled the Namami Barak festival held in 2017, where the Assam government had promised economic development in the region as part of the Act East Policy.

"The government had expressed its commitment to tapping the valley’s resources and ensuring development, but those commitments remain unfulfilled," she said.