Dhaka-Kolkata bus services stop from Friday

Bus services from Dhaka to Kolkata are going to stop from Friday as India has announced the suspension of all existing visas--except diplomatic, official, UN, international organisations, employment and project ones--till April 15 fearing deadly coronavirus epidemic.

A decision to stop bus services was taken on Thursday by the transport owners operating bus services between Dhaka and Kolkata, said Shyamoli N.R. Paribahan owner Shuvankar Ghosh Rakesh on Thursday.
Rakesh said the last bus would leave Dhaka for Kolkata tonight (Thursday night). No bus with passengers on board from Bangladesh would be allowed to cross Indian border after 3pm on Friday. "So, we decided to stop bus services to Kolkata from tomorrow (Friday)," he said.

He further said all the buses plying between Dhaka and Kolkata, and Dhaka and Siliguri routes will come under this restriction.

The Shyamoli N.R. Paribahan owner also advised the passengers, who procured advanced tickets to travel after March 12, to get their money back after returning their tickets at the counters concerned.

Meanwhile, no decision has so far been taken regarding the suspension of Kolkata-bound 'Moitree Express' trains from Dhaka and 'Bandhan Express' trains from Khulna, said an official of Bangladesh Railway on Thursday.

It may be mentioned that the Indian government has suspened all the existing visas for the citizens of all countries of the world due to the emergence of deadly coronavirus in the country. The suspension will start at 12 midnight on March 13 and continue until April 15 next.

SZA