It has been nearly seven years since an initiative was launched by four South Asian countries to ensure seamless cross-border traveling. But the progress of the ambitious project has been sluggish.

The transport ministers of the four countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, together dubbed as BBIN – signed a motor vehicle agreement (MVA) on behalf of their governments in Thimphu, Bhutan, on June 15, 2015, aiming to begin operations immediately.

With a view to implementing the deal, a trial run was also held among three countries — Bangladesh, India and Nepal (BIN) — in April 2018, as Bhutan’s parliament had yet to ratify the cross-border transportation agreement (BBIN-MVA).

Later, a series of meetings were held among the South Asian nations on various issues after the trial run to implement the BBIN-MVA, but the decision has not yet been followed up by practical action.

After a long gap, a meeting between officials of India, Bangladesh and Nepal was held in New Delhi on March 7-8 this year. Bhutan joined the meeting as an observer.

The meeting was held to discuss passenger and cargo protocols that are essential to operationalize the BBIN-MVA for the regulation of passenger, personal and cargo vehicles. This is the first meeting of the group since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago. The last meeting was held in February 2020 in New Delhi.

Several sources at both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, requesting anonymity, blamed “narrow regional politics” behind the late execution of the BBIN agreement.

The delegates agreed on specific steps and timelines to expeditiously finalize the passenger and cargo protocols for the implementation of the BBIN-MVA.

“We will prepare a protocol to operate passenger buses, cargo and private vehicles under the BBIN-MVA. Preparing a protocol is a prerequisite to launch direct passenger service,” said Md Anisur Rahman, joint secretary (connectivity) of the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, who attended the meeting.

“Hopefully, preparing the protocols will be done within six months,” he added.

“The next meeting will be held in Dhaka in the last quarter of this year after the drafting of the protocols to discuss and finalize it,” he told Dhaka Tribune.

According to the officials, the initiative in cross-border bus service will not materialize until the protocols are signed by the governments involved. In short, it means the wait will not end immediately.

However, according to the decision reached at the February 2020 meeting, direct bus services between Dhaka and Siliguri were expected to begin by 2021. But it was not possible due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

Talking to Dhaka Tribune, a senior official of the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry said that, apart from preparing protocols, a bilateral agreement was also required with India to start the service. The process of signing the agreement was underway.

Once the bilateral agreement and the protocols are in place, the bus service will be operated between Dhaka and Siliguri.

Convenient transport will also be available in Siliguri for Bangladeshi nationals to travel to Gangtok and Darjeeling, two popular tourist places in India, using the same route.

Earlier, Bangladesh and India had planned to inaugurate direct bus services between Dhaka and Sikkim, and Dhaka and Darjeeling.

However, the initiatives were set aside after a feasibility study by the BRTC found that the roads were too narrow for buses from Siliguri to Sikkim and Darjeeling. There are also risky bends for buses on both routes after Siliguri.

Siliguri is the entry point for getting to both Sikkim and Darjeeling as the road forms a “Y” right past it and starts to get ever so narrow.

Thus, officials suggest that people from Bangladesh desiring to travel to Gangtok from Dhaka, a popular tourist city in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim, will have to take a smaller bus from Siliguri to Gangtok as roads are mostly narrow in Sikkim.

On the other hand, officials of Bangladesh and Nepal also sat for finalizing their bilateral agreement.

Both countries have agreed to operate a bus service between Dhaka and Kathmandu.

“Apart from the BBIN-MVA, a bilateral deal and protocol are required to operate bus services between Dhaka-Kathmandu, according to Joint Secretary (Connectivity) Md Anisur Rahman.

“So, until a finalisation of the protocol, it will hardly be possible to start a bus service between Dhaka and Kathmandu,” he added.

By Shohel Mamun in Dhaka Tribune, May 6, 2022
https://www.dhakatribune.com/south-asia/2022/05/05/india-plans-rail-link-for-2-states-via-bangladesh