B’desh-India-Nepal tri-nation trial bus service launched

KATHMANDU, April 24: Nepal, India and Bangladesh launched a tri-nation trial bus service on Monday.

Two Kathmandu-bound buses, carrying a team of 80 delegates from three countries, were flagged off in Dhaka yesterday, a major development in transport sector to connect the regions. The buses will pass through Siliguri corridor.

The buses will travel 1,200 kilometers and arrive in Kathmandu on April 26. The delegation led by Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Fariduddin Ahmed will survey the aspects of the journey and will submit a report.

The three countries, in June 2015, had signed the Motor Vehicle Agreement as part of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) initiative of launching a South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation.

However, the journey will not cover Bhutan as the country requires backed off to ratify the motor vehicle agreement in its parliament. It, however, has asked the three countries to go ahead with the bus service.

A passenger protocol will be signed later in Delhi by the transport secretaries of the respective countries but a date has not been fixed yet. There will also be discussion about protocols for cargo vehicles. “Protocols normally provide the visa procedures, technical specifications of the buses, how the buses will run after getting route permits, driver license and travel documents and passenger documents that would be required,” said Govinda Prasad Kharel, under-secretary of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

The initiative is expected to be a breakthrough for seamless cross-border movement of vehicles among the countries, which in the future can increase trade and tourism within the region.