Kolkata-Dhaka Bus
The Govt. sponsored bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka was launched on June 19, 1999; the inaugural bus was received in Dhaka by Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The inauguration took place just months following the launch of the Delhi-Lahore Bus between Pakistan and India. Although receiving lesser media attention and fanfare, the bus service has expanded its services to meet higher demand. While boosting commerce between the two nations, the bus also enables people with families that were divided on either nation with the partition of India, to meet relatives and visit the land of their birth and heritage. The Kolkata-Dhaka bus service has remained uninterrupted, unlike the Delhi-Lahore bus that was suspended during the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff.
The Kolkata-Dhaka Govt. bus is operated jointly by the West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation and the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC is the State Road Transport arm of the Bangladesh Govt.). Buses starting from Dhaka leave on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:00AM and 7:30AM and buses starting from Kolkata are operated on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 5:30AM, 8:30AM, and 12:30PM, with no service from either side on Sunday. The journey is 12.5 hours long, 80 km (50 mi) from India side and 300 km (186 mi) into Bangladesh.
From India to Bangladesh there are services also provided by private comfortable a/c buslines (using Volvo and other luxurious Intercity bus transports) via the Haridaspur / Benapole border post. Private Bangladeshi bus companies Shohagh, Green Line, Shyamoli and others operate daily bus services from Benapole to Dhaka. The normal one-way fare is Bangladeshi Taka 600-800, roughly $8–12.
Read more about this topic: Transport Between India And Bangladesh
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