: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday flagged off the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service from the State secretariat Nabanna buildiing.
A group of journalists along with West Bengal Housing and Youth Services Minister Arup Biswas, principal secretary, Transport Department, Alapan Bandyopadhyay and other officials will travel in the bus to Dhaka.
Speaking during the event Ms Banerjee said that the initiative will strengthen ties between the two countries.
“Waterways, land and roads all will be linked if our hearts are closer. The Land Boundary Agreement which is going to be signed in Bangladesh is historic,” Ms Banerjee said.
The trail run of the bus had started on June 1 and was completed on June 3.
Reduced travel time
Earlier it took nearly three days to travel from Kolkata to Agartala by road via north Bengal. Now this can be done in 17 hours, through the bus service between the two States capitals’ via Bangladesh.
While the distance which that had to be travelled earlier was 1,650 km, it has now been reduced to 570 km.
Despite elaborate preparations for the event, the 45- seater luxury bus developed a technical snag.
The authorities had to find a new bus where the passengers had to be shifted. The bus service from the State is operated by the South Bengal State Transport Corporation.
