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Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service launched after the meeting between the Indian PM and Bangladesh PM, along with the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is a credible step taken by both the governments to make people’s life easier. This initiative also supports the relationship between the two countries and makes the bonds tighter. Let us learn more about these.
Overview
With the consent of both the countries, i.e., India and Bangladesh, the first-ever direct bus service from Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala was started in the year 2015. There was a great line of meetings and discussions between the Indian PM and Bangladesh PM, along with the Chief Minister of West Bengal, for initiating the long-distance bus service.
The main motto of this facility is to eliminate the mobility issues faced by the people while moving to two Indian states that are separated by Bangladesh. Furthermore, this helped strengthen the bond between the two nations. There were other facilities also which made the movement of people easy. One of these is the Dhaka-Kolkata bus service introduced in 1999, and one between Dhaka and Agartala in 2003.
The distance between the two places, Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh, is only around 500 km.
Three buses are running through Bangladesh in a week from June 2015. However, only five to six passengers are travelling at a time. Various factors are responsible for this scant number of passengers.
Things to Remember on Travel
Before travelling on this route, things and steps to keep in mind are mentioned below:
The foremost thing is to have a passport. It can be an international or an Indo-Bangladesh passport. Any of them work.
The next important step is to have a visa. For this, you need to consult with the Bangladesh High Commission near Assam rifles. Please carry these four main things while going there: Ticket, Passport, three copies of passport size photo and photocopy of $10 conversion. (The amount of charge is $5 per day, which you need to have in order to travel two days via a Foreign country).
The bus from the TRTC bus stand leaves at 1:30 p.m.
There is a check post at the Akhaura border by the Indian immigration, and they inspect the travellers.
After this, one more check post at the Bangladesh immigration takes place with the same procedure.
Then, Ashuganj is a stop for light refreshment that comes at around 4 p.m.
The other main stop is Dhaka, around 8 p.m. You can take your refreshments from here as well.
From there, the bus starts again through Bishya Road at around 10 p.m.
After that, other small bus stops come into the pathway until you reach the ‘Padma’ river at around 1 a.m. Ferri boats are used to cross the river, and this will take 45 minutes.
Subsequently, you will arrive at Benapole Border, and there will be another checking post. Similarly, there will be another checking post on crossing the Border (Petrapole).
There will be a break at Barasat, Kolkata, before the final destination of Esplanade or Karunamoyee. These buses need to be changed at Petrapole Border. However, the Karunamoyee bus need not be changed.
Other services
In 2018, another Volvo bus service was initiated from Tripura to Kolkata via Dhaka. In this launch, the Chairman of Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) and MLA Rajendra Reang were present and flagged off the new bus service at the internal bus terminal depot, and more than a hundred people were also present at the launch of the bus service from the state.
Conclusion
This initiative has supported the people and the relationship between the two countries. However, before utilising this service, one needs to keep a list of things in mind, as mentioned in this article, to make the trip easy.
