Saturday, September 16 2006 14:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Agartala: Union Water Resources minister Saifuddin Soz and his Bangladeshi counterpart Hafizuddin who visited disputed areas on the border in South Tripura district today said they were hopeful that problems would be sorted out amicably.

Soz and Hafizuddin told reporters at Muhurichar that there were problems on both Indian and Bangladesh sides. Both of them would visit the disputed areas in Bangladesh and then sit together in Dhaka on September 19 and September 20 to solve the problems.

"There are problems, but not major problems. We do not think that these cannot be solved through negotiation and we are hopeful that they will be sorted out amicably," the ministers said.

"Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Bina Sikri and a team of officials accompanied Soz. Bangladeshi officials, including the country's High Commisioner in India Liaqat Chowdhury accompanied Hafizuddin," official sources said.

"The joint ministerial team visited disputed Muhurichar on the river Muhuri in Belonia sub-division and parts of Sabroom sub-division during the day," they said.

They also visited the border areas in Sabroom sub-division where Bangladesh Rifles has been opposing the construction of pump houses on the Feni river for the past few years.