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Tripura to get 2 Volvo buses by September for Agartala-Kolkata service: Transport Secretary
TIWN
Tripura to get 2 Volvo buses by September for Agartala-Kolkata service: Transport Secretary
PHOTO : Volvo bus arrived from Kolkata at Akhaura Border. TIWN File Photo

AGARTALA, July 21 (TIWN): To soothe the passengers of land-locked state, Tripura to get at least two international standard Volvo buses for Agartala-Kolkata direct bus service via Bangladesh flagged off from Dhaka on June 6, Saturday. “We are expecting to get the buses by September first week,” said Secretary for State Transport Samarjit Bhowmik.He said, “We have already placed the order following which they had informed us to deliver the buses by the September.” Adding he also said that the commercial bus service from Agartala to Kolkata via Bangladesh capital Dhaka would be commenced soon once the buses ordered for arrives here.The West Bengal Government had already started the bus service where the Kolkata based bus arrives here at Agartala and takes the Agartala passengers at Kolkata. The fare had not yet been fixed.It is expected that after the Tripura government receives the proposed Volvo buses the fare and other pending issues would be fixed to soothe the passengers demanding for luxury bus to get a trouble-free journey to Kolkata. The bus fare has been fixed at Rs. 2000 for Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala route.The fare was fixed by the West Bengal government to meet their high investment, said official. However, but the Tripura Government is yet to fix the bus fare at the earliest.

Samarjit Bhowmik, who has come out to be the witness of several historical momentum of the Tripura left front Government under his hard work said, “We have planned to purchase at least two international standard Volvo buses to ply at Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata and vice versa route.”

He said, “We are buying those international standard Volvo buses with an aim to comfort the Tripura passengers.” 

"It will bring a relief mainly to those who want to travel between Kolkata and Agartala and are currently paying hefty amount to the air travel agencies. We could not ignore the demand of the people in land-locked Tripura,” Bhowmik said.  

However, it has been a long term demand of the Tripura government to start direct bus service between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh Dhaka, but interestingly the State Govt. had failed to start the service yet today despite Modi-Hasina flagged off the service on June 6 and the Westy Bengal government had already kicked off commercial service.

To start the bus service soon has of course become a matter of concern for Tripura Government. But it is also mentionable here that the fare of the bus service is yet to be finalised as the West Bengal Government had planned to fix it on Rs. 2000 and the Tripura Government refusing it had asked the West Bengal government to down it into Rs. 1500 for the sake of the land-locked people here.  

Even after Independence, residents of Tripura had been in touch with the people on other side of the border as their relatives reside in Comilla, Dhaka, Chittagong and Noakhali districts of Bangladesh.

The existing route between Kolkata and Agartala by road has been a complex one with an estimated distance of 1,650 kilometres. The journey through the narrow 'chicken neck' territory via Guwahati and Shillong takes around two days.

But the new route via Dhaka, Rupganj, Narsingdi, Brahmanberia and Akhaura would bring down the distance to 470 kilometres.

The Kolkata-Dhaka bus service was introduced in 1999. Since then, there has been a demand for connectivity with Tripura. The successful run of Kolkata-Dhaka service brightened the scope for another service in the northeastern sector. While Agartala-Dhaka service was introduced in 2003, requests started pouring in for a direct link.

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