Agartala, Feb 7 (IANS) The month-long political crisis in Bangladesh has hit bus services between the two countries and bilateral trade, officials said here Saturday.
"The Dhaka-Agartala bus service has been completely stopped since last week. The Dhaka-Kolkata bus services were also become irregular due to the political turmoil in Bangladesh," a Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) official said.
He said: "We do not know when the bus services would be normalise. Due to the political violence in Bangladesh the operators are reluctant to run the bus services between the two countries."
The Tripura government-owned TRTC and the Bangladesh government run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) have been operating the Agartala-Dhaka bus service.
The TRTC had stopped its bus service for the past one month while the BRTC stopped the service last week.
The Agartala-Dhaka bus service started in September 2003 while the Kolkata-Dhaka bus service was introduced in July 1999.
"Currently, the Agartala-Dhaka and Dhaka-Agartala bus services being on run four days a week. The TRTC and BRTC have been considering increasing the periodicity amid pressure of Kolkata-bound passengers," the TRTC official said.
The transportation via Bangladesh is much easier as road connectivity is a big factor for the mountainous northeastern states which share boundaries with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
Agartala via Guwahati is 1,650 km from Kolkata by road and 2,637 km from New Delhi, while the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about 350 km.
"Due to the crisis of aircrafts and mounting increase of the fare of air tickets, people from the northeastern states prefer to go to Kolkata and other places of India via Bangladesh," the official added.
Political chaos in Bangladesh has also affected the trade between the two countries.
"Due to the reduction in the trade between Bangladesh and northeastern states, traders across the borders have been largely losing business," Agartala Exporters-Importers Association general secretary Habul Biswas told IANS.
"Normally, 200 goods laden trucks from Bangladesh came to Akhaura checkpost near Agartala city. The number of trucks reduced to half. Hundreds of labourers involve in the trade are also becoming jobless," Biswas added.
He said the fear-stricken Bangladeshi truck drivers are reluctant to carry goods from Bangladesh to northeastern states in day hours. However, some goods laden trucks are being plied at late nights braving the security threat.
India's four northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam share 1,880-km border with Bangladesh and have several border trade points along this frontier.
Opposition parties led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have launched an indefinite countrywide blockade to protest the first anniversary of the controversial parliamentary elections held Jan 5, 2014.
Since Jan 5, many people have been killed and properties and a large number of vehicles have been damaged in the nationwide political violence.
Monsoon Alert: Possibility of heavy rains in these states including western UP-Uttarakhand; Know the condition of monsoon in the country
Southwest Monsoon has covered almost the entire country ahead of time. Monsoon will reach most parts of Punjab-Haryana and Rajasthan in the next two days. At the same time, monsoon remained active in
Bad Boys for Life among Upcoming earned 31 billion worldwide, to be released soon on Home Entertainment
Hollywood desk. The sequel to the action comedy film Bad Boys is going to release digitally on March 31. The film will be released on 4 April in 4k Ultra HD, Blu Ray and DVD. Bad Boys for Life has
Johnson will resign soon!: Indian-origin Finance Minister Rishi Sunak ahead in the race for new UK PM
British PM Boris Johnson has been accused of failing to control the Corona epidemic and partying in the Garden of his residence 10 Downing Street in violation of the Covid protocol. In such a
Public and Financial Inclusion: Efforts to reach the economy from the livelihood of the common man through digital means
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Jan Samarth, a credit-linked portal linked to 13 government schemes to ensure easy availability of credit to youth, farmers, and entrepreneurs.
Israel-Gaza Conflict: 'Killing Palestinians will not make Israel safer', Palestinian ambassador angry at UN
Palestine's ambassador to the United Nations, Ryan Mansour, condemned Israel. He said Israel will never be safer by killing Palestinians. Not only this, Mansoor has also held Israel responsible for
Haryana Minister's twitter handle creates buzz
Chandigarh, Feb 16 (IANS) "Thank You Chief Minister For Taking Keen Interest into My Departments. I am Relaxed." This tweet by Haryana's outspoken Health and Sports Minister Anil Vij Monday
LPG: Now there will be a QR code on the LPG cylinder, know how you will benefit from this initiative of the government?
In the coming few days, the LPG cylinder that reaches your home will also have a QR code. The government has decided to put a QR code on LPG gas cylinders so that during the process of delivering the
Uber rape case: Accused wants to re-examine witnesses
New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) Rape-accused Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav Monday moved an application in a court here seeking to recall some prosecution witnesses in the case for further cross
Bahraich Wolf Attack: Vigilance increased in wolf-affected villages, surveillance at every nook and corner; villages echoing with the sound of firecrackers
The wolf, which has already killed 10 people including nine children, was not heard attacking on Tuesday. Block Development Officer Hemant Kumar Yadav said that 11 district-level officers are visiting
Traders Diwali: This Diwali, traders across the country sold goods worth 72 thousand crores; China got a shock of 40 thousand crores
Traders' organization Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that during the Diwali season, vendors across the country sold goods worth 72 thousand crores. CAT said that this has happened due
