New Delhi, Aug 02: The Dhaka-Agartala bus service, proposed to be flagged off on August 9, is facing "procedural hitches" but these are in the process of being sorted out, government said. "There are procedural hitches from the Bangladesh side and these are in the process of being sorted out," external affairs ministry spokesman told reporters yesterday.
"I can't give you any confirmation," he said when asked whether the service, the second one after Kolkata-Dhaka bus link, would commence as planned this month.
The Khaleda Zia government is yet to give its nod for the Dhaka-Agartala bus service. The matter came up for discussion at the meeting in Dhaka of the Bangladesh cabinet on July 21 which asked for a clear summary on it from the ministry of foreign affairs.
India and Bangladesh had agreed to start a second bus service between Dhaka and Agartala during the foreign minister level meeting here on July 15 and 16 and India had even agreed to the proposal by Dhaka that Bangladeshi communication minister would travel to Agartala to flag-off the service. Incidentally the bus operating agency on both sides of the border - Bangladesh Road Transport Agency and Tripura Road Transport Agency - have already completed all preparation for starting the service which is likely to help the citizens of both the countries.
The first bus service between the two countries was started in June 1999 between Dhaka and Kolkata and the service had been running smoothly since then. Bureau Report