Dhaka-Calcutta bus service deal

Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement to launch a direct bus service linking Dhaka and the north eastern Indian city of Agartala In the state of Tripura.

The first bus will leave Dhaka on Thursday and regular service will begin in August.

This will be the second such bus service between these two countries. In 1999 the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina and the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, jointly inaugurated the first direct bus service linking Dhaka and Calcutta. A test-run for a direct passenger train service between India and Bangladesh will take place tomorrow on Wednesday when a train carrying Bangladeshi officials will leave Dhaka for Calcutta.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service