The cross-border bus service between Bangladesh and India resumed on June 10, after two years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bus services will start with the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka bus
“Bus services between India and Bangladesh via ICP Agartala-Akhaura and ICP Haridaspur-Benapole resumed early morning on June 11 with the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka bus being flagged off from Dhaka, a major step taken towards enhancing affordable, people-centric connectivity,” the High Commission of India in Bangladesh tweeted.
Tazul Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), had confirmed that the service would resume to The Daily Star on June 9.
Cross-border bus service also launched from Agartala
The cross-border bus service was also launched from Agartala, Tripura. According to the High Commission of India in Bangladesh, the Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata-Agartala bus service will help boost tourism and people-to-people ties.
Train service between the two countries also resumed
The news comes after the resumption of rail service between the two countries on May 29. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, train service between the two countries has been suspended since March 2020. Between India and Bangladesh, two trains run: the Bandhan Express between Kolkata and Khulna, Bangladesh, and the Maitree Express between Kolkata and Dhaka.
Except for the Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati-Dhaka route, service on four other routes would resume from June 10 and the first bus would start from Motijheel at 7:00 am, added Mr Islam.
Earlier buses use to operate on 5 cross border routes
Before the suspension of service, buses were operated on five cross-border routes: Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka, Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka, Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati-Dhaka, Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata-Agartala, and Dhaka-Khulna-Kolkata-Dhaka, reported The Daily Star.
The discussion over the operation of the fifth route is also going on, said a BRTC official.
