Asian Highway
Whether we support or not the present quasi-fundamentalist BNP-led government, or whether we are anti-Indian or not, we should not take the line that goes against our interest. The proposed Asian Highway runs from Bangladesh to Myanmar, our next-door neighbor, not directly, but via India. This Highway will make us take a detour of about 1,700 kilometers by road to reach Myanmar, China and the Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. Not only that, we will have to pay for transit to India for using its part of the Highway. For example, the distance by road between the Yunan province of China and Bangladesh is only 900 kilometers. If we take the Highway via India, we will have to add extra 1,700 kilometers to that distance.
Besides the question of distance, we will have to pay India and Myanmar for the transit instead of paying only to Myanmar, which lies between our country and China. It is sad that due to our myopic politicians and inert bureaucracy, we have not yet been able to help Myanmar to construct the road, linking that country with ours.
The course of the Highway that Bangladesh prefers will also benefit India, the Southeast Asian countries and any user of the Highway, as it will reduce the road distance between India and the Southeast Asia by 500 kilometers.
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