AGARTALA, March 29 (TIWN): The much talked Volvo service to Kolkata via Bangladesh which was inaugurated with great fervour, it seems like the lack of passengers has hit the much awaited service.

Allegation has been raised that despite of a grand inauguration of the much talked Volvo service to Kolkata via Bangladesh, TRTC is crawling to cater the required passenger.

The Volvo bus service may be offering comfort to passengers but it is struggling to cater passengers.  Reportedly, TRTC is not getting adequate numbers of passengers for travelling to Kolkata via Dhaka and above all the withdrawn of the hand written passport is also another issue.

After waiting for several months, the state government has finally catered its own Volvo bus to the land locked Tripura to provide its own volvo bus service from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka but there is no adequate number of passengers to travel through the bus.

Despite all odds and with an aim to meet the demand of the land-locked Tripura and to contain the rise in airfares the bus service for Agartala-Kolkata via Dhaka has started its journey from Agartala.      

It is to be mentioned here that despite of spending huge amount of money to commence the bus service from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka, TRTC is now suffering due to lack of adequate number of passengers.

Waiting for several months for the commencement of the Volvo bus service, offering comfort to passengers, the service is yet suffering with lack of passengers.

On the other hand, most of the people avoid the long journey service through by-roads. Therefore, most of the people opt for flight service and when the aviation companies hikes the flight fare they only on that they if they go for the bus service.

It is to be mentioned here that the bus fare has been fixed at Rs. 2000 for Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala route and for Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata it is fixed at Rs 1500.  But TRTC is not getting adequate number of passengers.

The existing route between Kolkata and Agartala by road has been a complex one with an estimated distance of 1,650 kilometres. The journey through the narrow 'chicken neck' territory via Guwahati and Shillong takes around two days.

But the new route via Dhaka, Rupganj, Narsingdi, Brahmanberia and Akhaura would bring down the distance to 470 kilometres.