Tripura’s vital link to Kolkata has roared back to life. The Maitri international bus service, connecting Agartala and Kolkata through Dhaka, resumed operations after a 18-month hiatus. The first bus departed Kolkata on Monday, transiting via Dhaka, and arrived triumphantly in Agartala on Tuesday.
At the Agartala-Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP), passengers received a hero’s welcome. Tripura’s Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, along with TRTC Acting Chairman Samar Roy and senior ICP officials, were on hand to celebrate the revival.
Minister Chowdhury hailed the restart as a ‘welcome and joyful initiative.’ He expressed optimism that the new Bangladeshi government’s formation would strengthen cultural and economic ties between India and Bangladesh. ‘Mutual friendship is essential for our shared development,’ he emphasized, calling the service a symbol of trust and cooperation.
TRTC’s Samar Roy revealed plans for the Agartala-Dhaka bus service to follow suit soon. The 35-seater state-run buses will operate three days a week from each end, linking Tripura and West Bengal via Dhaka.
These services were first suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and briefly resumed in June 2022. A tragic bus accident in Bangladesh, followed by mob violence, halted them again. Last year’s unrest and the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, further delayed restoration as operators hesitated.
Improved law and order under Bangladesh’s new administration paved the way for this decision. The Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata route slashes travel distance from 1,650 km via Guwahati to just 620 km, making journeys faster and more convenient.
As India’s second-busiest Indo-Bangla trade hub after Petrapole-Benapole, the Agartala-Akhaura ICP underscores the route’s economic significance. This resumption promises boosted connectivity, trade, and people-to-people contacts across borders.