AGARTALA, May 19 (TIWN):India has finalised 13 bus routes with Bangladesh, including one from Agartala to Calcutta via Dhaka territory that will cut the original distance of 1,700km to 400km between the two cities.The Kolkata-Agartala service will start in June around the time Prime Minister Modi visits Bangladesh.Top MEA officials say Modi wants Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to flag off the first bus and Tripura CM Manik Sarkar to receive it through official ceremonies.The direct bus service will cost passengers around 2000 Indian rupees and the travel time will be around fifteen hours. India has also recommended over 20 entry and exit points for private vehicles. These points are in four states — Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram.

A bus service between Calcutta and Dhaka, started in 1999, has been running uninterrupted while another, launched in 2001, exists between Agartala and Dhaka. There is also a train — Maitree Express — that connects Calcutta and Dhaka.

But India has been pressing for more cross-border bus routes, especially from the Northeast states, and more entry and exit routes between the two countries for private vehicles.

During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka last year, the two governments had signed a bilateral agreement for “regulation of passenger and cargo vehicular traffic”.

Based on the agreement, the Union government had formed an inter-state nodal committee comprising representatives of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Bengal.

After several rounds of discussions, the 13 routes were formalised dyring the ongoing visit of Bangladesh roads minister Obaidul  Quader.. The routes would originate from Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam.

Apart from the 13 routes, the government has recommended entry and exit points for private vehicles from Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram.

Under the agreement signed last year, both countries will allow passenger, cargo and personal vehicles of either country to ply in the other’s territory. The two countries also agreed to impose an upper and lower limit on the number of vehicles.

However, the agreement does not allow overstay except during natural calamities.

Neither will any major repairs be allowed in the other country except in the event of an accident, which has to be reported to the authorities concerned.