New Delhi, Aug 08, 2022, By Special Correspondent

New Delhi, Aug 8: The government on Monday told Parliament that it was striving to enhance comprehensive connectivity between India and Bangladesh, through the North East.

"It is an important aspect of our bilateral cooperation and significant progress has been made in recent years. Rail and bus services between the two countries have resumed after the pandemic," Minister of Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

He said that Mitalee Express from New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka, through Haldibari-Chilahati, has started operating from June 1, 2022. 

This is the third passenger rail service between India and Bangladesh, Reddy pointed out.

The ongoing Railway projects of "Agartala-Akhaura rail link" connecting Agartala (Tripura) with Akhaura (Bangladesh) and “Construction of Mahisasan (India)-Zero Point (Bangladesh) new line” shall also improve connectivity between the two countries. 

Construction of Maitri Setu on river Feni in Sabroom has been completed and Royal Maitri International bus service from Tripura to Kolkata via Bangladesh by Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) has started.

Further, an MoU for facilitating temporary transit of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) products through Bangladesh to India’s North Eastern Region has been signed between Ministry of Road and Highways, Government of Bangladesh, and the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. on August 02, 2022, Reddy said.

The proposal for developing a road link from Mahendraganj in Meghalaya to Hili in West Bengal through Bangladesh was raised with Bangladesh during the Virtual Summit held in December 2020, as well as during the Prime Minister’s visit to Bangladesh in March, 2021, the minister added.