‘Agartala-Dhaka bus service to resume from May 15’

Agartala:  Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) has decided to resume Agartala-Dhaka bus service which will ply twice a week from May 15.
Bangladesh transport operator Shyamali Paribahan Ltd has also resumed Dhaka-Agartala bus service twice a week from yesterday after resumption of normalcy in political situation in their country.
TRTC Managing Director R M Malakar said Indian authority had suspended its Maitree bus service in Agartala-Dhaka route in January this year on security ground. The Bangladesh transport operator had also suspended its service between Dhaka and Agartala after a month.
After reviewing the situation in Bangladesh, the operators have decided to run bus services twice a week from both the side. Maitree will run on Monday and Friday from Agartala while Shyamali will run on Tuesday and Saturday from Dhaka, Malakar stated.
Maitree will ply from TRTC Agartala complex at 1200 hrs and will reach Dhaka at 1600 hrs. A 35-seater deluxe coach will ferry the passengers at Rs 180.  He, however, pointed out that Tripura government through Ministry of External Affairs has been holding talks with Bangladesh to allow direct bus service from Agartala to Dhaka at least twice a week. At present, Indian passengers have to change buses at Dhaka and wait for over five hours to travel to Kolkata at night. Similarly, the passengers from Kolkata have to spend a night in Dhaka while traveling by bus to Agartala, which is inconvenient for the passengers, Mr Malakar said.
Agartala-Dhaka bus service was launched in September 2003 with a pair of luxury coach each from TRTC of India and Shyamali from Bangladesh after a successful bus service from Kolkata to Dhaka, the first direct surface communication between the two neighbouring countries that was started in July 1999. (UNI)