Joint Indo-Bangla team begins route inspection

AGARTALA, July 19: Stage is all set for much awaited Agartala-Dhaka bus service. An India and Bangladesh joint team has already undertaken route survey for the proposed Agartala-Dhaka bus service on Wednesday. Sources said the members of both the countries will hold a high-level meeting on Thursday in Dhaka and decide as to which route will be better for Agartala-Dhaka bus service. The meeting will submit recommendations to Dhaka and Delhi on which a formal accord on the bus service will be signed by the both countries. It may be mentioned that both the countries have already agreed to sign the accord in a meeting of Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Abdus Samad Azad at Torento, Canada recently. The 16-member team travelled to Agartala from Dhaka through Brahmanbaria and entered the city from Akhaura and then went back again to Bangladesh capital through Goomilla. They will be holding a meeting there tomorrow. Official sources said the team visited Tripura Road Transport Corporation complex here at Krishnanagar and later held a meeting with Tripura Chief Secretary V Thulasidas. The Bangladesh delegation told the Chief Secretary that Dhaka is keen to start the bus service at the earliest. Tripura Government has decided to ply only the TRTC buses on the route, and has already requisitioned luxury buses for the purpose. The Bangladesh team was led by Bangladesh Transport Corporation chairman Md Ajmol Choudhury. On the other hand, Indian team was led by director of External Affairs Ministry Banasree Basu Harrison. Transport commissioner of Tripura BK Sharma, district magistrate Manish Kumar, deputy transport commissioner K Das and first secretary of Bangladesh visa office at Agartala AKM Abdulla received the joint team at Akhaura check post.