AGARTALA, February 18 (TIWN): International bus service between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka has been hit again by political turmoil in Bangladesh. Both Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) stopped plying daily passenger buses for safety reasons. “For the last 1 month the Agartala bus has been stopped plying to Bangladesh due to the political unrest in Bangladesh, but the bus from Bangladesh that resumed recently has been suspended again”, ICP sources told to TIWN on Tuesday.Agartala-Dhaka regular bus service resumed on last Friday after over eight months of suspension due to a violence in which a mob torched a vehicle of the fleet in Bangladesh, but the passengers movement from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka has been suspended again following the unrest in Bangladesh. The source from Agartala Integrated Check Post (ICP) told to TIWN that for the last one month the bus movement from Agartala has been suspended, but the bus service that resumed recently amid the violence in Bangladesh has been suspended again in wake of the safety of the passengers.

However, it is mentionable here that the suspended bus service has hit the passengers movement very badly as the high air fare from Agartala to Kolkata has brought a major trouble to the passengers. The suspension of the bus service from Agartala to Kolkata via Bangladesh has lead the passengers to take an only choice of the air to travel to Kolkata.

Besides, the trade activities at Akhaura border in Agartala and three other border points in Tripura almost collapsed due to relentless violence in Bangladesh. Exporters and importers are incurring huge loss, said the source today.

Shyamoli Paribahan, a private transport company of Bangladesh, has suspended its bus service between Dhaka and Agartala of India’s Tripura for an indefinite period. The decision has been informed to Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC). A government official in Dhaka said the ongoing and unrelenting violence in Bangladesh forced them to suspend the service. TRTC managing director RM Malakar said Shyamoli was operating a bus from Dhaka to Agartala thrice a week after the TRTC suspended its service on the route in January this year for security reasons.