Road links between India and Bangladesh

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Map of Bangladesh with existing rail and road links
Map of Bangladesh with existing rail and road links

Road links between India and Bangladesh have been developed for transport, travel and commercial purposes, and bear much historical and political significance for both countries, which have possessed no ground transport links since the partition of Bengal and India in 1947. The Kolkata–Dhaka Bus (1999) and the Dhaka–Agartala Bus (2001) are the primary road links between the two countries; a direct Kolkata-Agartala running through Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh is being developed by both countries. The Maitreyi Express (Friendship Express) was launched to revive a railway link between Kolkata and Dhaka that had been shut for 43 years.[1]

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[edit] Background

The partition of Bengal and India on August 15, 1947 led to the establishment of the Indian state of West Bengal; East Bengal became a province of the state of Pakistan. The hostile bilateral relations between the two nations made transport links very limited, despite the cultural and commercial links between West and East Bengal. At the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the only railway link between Dhaka and Kolkata was shut down, and not resumed until 2008 with the launch of the Maitreyi Express.

After the establishment of Bangladesh following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, bilateral relations improved considerably, but the two governments moved slowly on implementing a 1980 agreement on improving transport links.[2] In the 1990s, the Indian and Bangladeshi governments collaborated to open bus services between Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal and one of the largest cities in India, and Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. In 2001, another bus service was launched to connect Dhaka with Agartala, the capital of the Indian state of Tripura that borders Bangladesh in the east.

[edit] Kolkata-Agartala link

Since the 1980s, the Indian and Bangladeshi governments have sought to negotiate an agreement permitting commercial vehicles to pass through Bangladeshi highways in order to reach the northeastern states of India from the west; a concept described in India as the "Bangla Corridor."[3] Such an arrangement is being promoted for its benefit to bilateral commerce, the transport cost reduction for Indian businesses and additional revenue for Bangladesh.[2][4] In 2006, both governments began working on a proposal to provide a bus service directly connecting Kolkata with Agartala, the capital of the Indian state of Tripura, which borders eastern Bangladesh.[5] As of 2007, travelling distance through Indian territory is an estimated 1,700 km (1,056 mi), but a direct road link via Dhaka would shorten the travelling distance to an estimated 400 km (249 mi),[3] considerably reducing the costs of transport for Indian businesses, which have to transport goods and services through the narrow "Chicken's Neck" territory that is bordered by northern Bangladesh and southern Nepal. However, such an arrangement has been politically sensitive in Bangladesh.[3]

[edit] Kolkata-Dhaka Bus

The bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka was launched on June 19, 1999; the inaugural bus was received in Dhaka by Sheikh Hasina, the then-Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[2] The inauguration took place just months following the launch of the Delhi-Lahore Bus between Pakistan and India. Although receiving lesser media attention and fanfare, the bus service has expanded its services to meet higher demand. While boosting commerce between the two nations, the bus also enables people with families that were divided on either nation with the partition of India, to meet relatives and visit the land of their birth and heritage. The Kolkata-Dhaka bus service has remained uninterrupted, unlike the Delhi-Lahore bus that was suspended during the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff.

The Kolkata-Dhaka bus is operated jointly by the West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation and the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation. Buses starting from Dhaka are operated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and buses starting from Kolkata are operated on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with no service from either side on Sunday.[6] The journey is 12.5 hours long, (80 km (50 mi) from side and 300 km (186 mi) into Bangladesh, including a ferry crossing).[2]

[edit] Dhaka-Agartala Bus

After years of negotiations, the Dhaka-Agartala bus was agreed upon on July 11, 2001[7] to connect Bangladesh with its eastern neighbour, the Indian state of Tripura, which has a substantial Bengali population and indigenous peoples who have close commercial and cultural links with the people of eastern Bangladesh.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Kolkata-Dhaka Moitree Express flagged off", The Times of India, Times Internet Limited, 14 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  2. ^ a b c d Malhotra, Jyoti. "Bus maps the route to better Indo-Bangla ties", expressindia.com, The Indian Express, June 18, 1999. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  3. ^ a b c Abdi, SNM. "Kolkata-Agartala bus link gets a major push forward", dnaindia.com, Diligent Media Corporation Ltd, March 13, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  4. ^ "Calcutta-Dhaka passenger bus route soon", expressindia.com, The Indian Express, July 2, 1998. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  5. ^ Islam, Zahedul. "Bangladesh to Propose New Bus Service Linking Two Indian Cities", redOrbit, redOrbit.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  6. ^ International Bus Services. Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
  7. ^ "Dhaka-Calcutta bus service deal", BBC News, BBC, 11 July 2001. Retrieved on 2008-04-21.