Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata bus service set to resume after year-long suspension

Agartala: The cross-border bus service linking Agartala, Dhaka and Kolkata is likely to resume soon on a regular basis, bringing to an end a suspension that lasted for over a year, officials said on Saturday.

Government-owned Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) Vice-Chairman Samar Roy said that trial runs of the Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata bus service commenced on Saturday. He added that the schedule for regular operations would be announced on February 28 after assessing the outcome of a few trial runs.

The Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata and Agartala-Dhaka bus services were initially suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic and later resumed in June 2022. However, the services were again halted after a bus operated by a local travel agency met with an accident in Bangladesh and was subsequently attacked by a mob.

Bus operators also expressed reluctance to resume services following the outbreak of violence in Bangladesh in June-July last year, particularly after the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

With a newly elected government now assuming office in Bangladesh and reports indicating an improvement in the overall law-and-order situation, authorities concerned have decided to restart the cross-border bus services.

The Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata and Agartala-Dhaka bus links are considered vital connectivity routes, enabling smoother and faster travel between Tripura and eastern India through Bangladesh territory.

The services are expected to significantly benefit passengers once regular operations resume.

Sources said that the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission (AHC) in Agartala has also begun providing visas in special cases.

Earlier, the Bangladesh AHC in Agartala had notified that all visa and consular services at the diplomatic mission remained suspended from December 23, 2025, due to “unavoidable circumstances” and until further notice.

Meanwhile, a senior Tripura police official said that security in and around the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala has been further strengthened since August last year.

“A huge contingent of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Tripura State Rifles has been deployed to ensure the safety of officials and the diplomatic mission,” the official said.

Tripura, which shares an 856-km-long border with Bangladesh and is surrounded by the neighbouring country on three sides, witnesses regular cross-border movement, with a large number of people travelling regularly between the two countries.

The Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) Integrated Check Post (ICP) is also the second-largest trading point between India and Bangladesh after the Petrapole-Benapole ICP in West Bengal.

Travel from India’s mountainous Northeastern region to the rest of the country via Bangladesh is significantly faster and more efficient compared to the traditional narrow Siliguri corridor, commonly referred to as the “Chicken’s Neck” corridor.

IANS