India, Bangladesh discuss ways to improve bus service

India and Bangladesh held a meeting to take stock of the bus service between the two countries and discussed ways to improve amenities for passengers on both sides, the government said today.
"Indo-Bangladesh ties gained further strength when officials from the Transport, Home and Foreign Affairs Ministries from both sides met in Shillong on May 4 to review the progress of the passenger bus services between the two countries," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.
The objective of the meeting was to take stock of the bus services plying on four routes between the two countries, and bring in improvement wherever possible to facilitate smooth and comfortable movement of passengers, it said.

"The meeting discussed the need for improving visa clearance facilities so as to make the clearance faster. For this, Bangladesh proposes to strengthen its existing Consulate in Agartala. In addition to this, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has approved setting up another Bangladesh Consulate in Guwahati," the statement said.
The meeting also discussed issues like improving passenger amenities on both sides and a demand for adding a stoppage in Bangladesh on the Kolkata-Dhaka route and the issue of rationalising fares were also taken up in the meet.
This review meeting was the first of its kind since the earliest protocol was signed between the two countries in 1999 to start a bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka.

The next review meeting has been scheduled for the last week of June in Guwahati.

Bus services are currently being operated on four routes between India and Bangladesh and these include Kolkata to Agartala via Dhaka in which three buses operate on a round trip basis by Tripura Road Transport Corporation/ WB Surface Transport Corporation and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation.
This service has helped to bring down travel distance between Kolkata and Agartala from 1,550 KM along the traditional Siliguri-Guwahati-Silchar route to just 640 KM along the new route, the statement said.
The other route pertains to Dhaka-Guwahati via Shillong in which one bus each is run on round trip basis by Assam State Transport Corp and Bangladesh Road Transport Corp.

These two services were flagged off from Dhaka in June last year, by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
In addition, there are two earlier services - Kolkata - Dhaka and Agartala-Dhaka which are in operation since 2000.
The operation of the passenger buses between the two countries is part of the ongoing efforts to enhance regional cooperation.
India and Bangladesh have both signed the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement, along with Bhutan and Nepal, which aims to regulate passenger and cargo vehicular traffic between the four countries and provide seamless movement of people and goods across their borders for the benefit and integration of the region and its economic development.