Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka bus flagged off; regular service from February

The bus, which left Guwahati at 9 AM will pass through Shillong, the Meghalaya capital, cross the international border at Dawki-Tamabil and halt tonight at Sylhet before resuming onward journey to Dhaka on Thursday morning, officials said. A joint delegation comprising officials from both countries are traveling on the first trial run of the 500-km Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka route.

Altogether 23 officials, comprising of officials of external affairs, home, finance and transport departments of both countries, as also four officials each from Assam and Meghalaya are traveling in the first Guwahati-Dhaka bus. The team that will also conduct a joint survey will submit its report to both governments, following which regular services are expected to begin in February 2015, an official said.

“Guwahati and Shillong are also soon expected to have Bangladesh visa offices before the regular bus service is launched. Right now there is only one Bangladesh office in the entire Northeastern region, that being located in Agartala,” the official said. A regular bus service between Agartala and Dhaka – a distance of about 180 kms – launched in September 2003, is very popular.

Guwahati and Shillong also became the third and fourth Indian state capitals to be linked to Dhaka with bus service. The 466-km Kolkata-Dhaka service was launched in June 1999.