Bangla to consider issue of transit facility

DHAKA, July 28: In a major policy decision, the Sheikh Hasina government on Wednesday approved in principle to examine the issue of transportation of Indian goods through Bangladesh. A brief official announcement said the Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, granted the approval. India has long been pressing for a transit route to transport its goods to the seven north-eastern states through Bangladesh. The Indian proposal had sparked off widespread controversy and protests in political circles. Opposition parties said that providing transit facilities to India would jeopardise Bangladesh's sovereignty and security. The government's decision came within five weeks of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's brief visit here when he was believed to have raised the transit issue during talks with Hasina.