New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Ms Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Bangladesh discussed about the proposed bus service between Shillong and Dhaka but no formal agreement has been signed in this connection, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
A proposal to start a new bus service between Dhaka and Guwahati through Shillong has been discussed with the Government of Bangladesh in bilateral meetings, but no agreement has so far been reached to commence the service, the Minister of State, External Affairs Gen (retd) VK Singh said. He was replying to a question tabled by Ms Wansuk Syiem.
India and Bangladesh have mutually agreed to start the bus service and both governments have cleared it since both already have road connectivity. The Meghalaya government had sent a proposal in 2002 to the Centre for introduction of a direct bus between Shillong and Dhaka, connecting Sylhet in Bangladesh and Dawki in Meghalaya.
After the proposal was submitted by the state government 10 years ago, the Centre had given the nod for the project while asking whether the state was prepared to go ahead with the project as infrastructure along the border was minimal. The Meghalaya government later communicated to the Centre its willingness to start the bus service, expecting financial assistance from the Centre.
The much talked about bus service would not only ease travelling to Bangladesh but would promote tourism between the two countries. Meghalaya shares mutual interests in terms of trade besides geographical and historical contiguity with the neighbouring country.
