Dhaka-Siliguri bus service to be flagged off on May 26

A bus service between Dhaka to Siliguri via Banglabandha and Fulbari is all set to start operations from May 26.

Official sources confirmed that the bus will be flagged off on that day from Kamalapur depot in Dhaka. But it has not been decided who will flag off the new service in India which is in the midst of the Lok Sabha polls.

The luxury bus service will take around 14 hours to reach Siliguri from Dhaka.
The residents of Panchagarh district, Bangladesh will accord a warm welcome to the travellers on the maiden voyage at Banglabandha (Bangladeshi border town on Indo-Bangla border).

Preparations are on at Fulbari on the Indian side. Test run was conducted between Dhaka, Siliguri and Nepal last year. The bus service is seen to boost tourism.

Banglabandha-Fulbari is the third largest dry port and transit point on Indo-Bangla border. Since long there has been a demand for a bus service between Dhaka and Siliguri.

Inking of the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement on April 23, 2018 was followed by test runs of two buses on Dhaka-Siliguri-Kathmandu route.

The buses will ply through Asian 2 Highway which connects the three countries. Initially, the service will be confined to Dhaka and Siliguri. Later, it will be extended to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.

The luxury buses will have 28 passenger capacity. The fare has been fixed at Tk 2,000 (around Rs 1,500). Shyamoli Travels will operate two buses as of now, one from Dhaka and other from Siliguri everyday.
A bus will carry passengers from Siliguri to Fulbari, a distance of around 6km. The passengers after completing travel and immigration formalities (passport-visa checks) will board another bus from Banglabandha to reach Dhaka. The same system will be followed from Dhaka. The bus from Dhaka will drop passengers at Banglabandha. The passengers will get another bus at Fulbari point to go to Siliguri.