Published by the Press, Information & Culture Wing, Embassy of India

(June 1999)

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Calcutta - Dhaka bus service was initiated by Prime Minister Vajpayee and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on June 20, 1999.

The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said that the inaugural run of the Calcutta-Dhaka bus service marks yet one more stage in the active agenda between India and Bangladesh. Speaking at a function in the Osmani Auditorium at Dhaka soon after the arrival of the first Calcutta-Dhaka bus from Calcutta, the Prime Minister said that a lot more remained to be done and would be done to promote road links between the two countries. The two Governments of India and Bangladesh were currently dealing with many issues - big and small for the well-being of the people in both the countries, he said and added that the approach of goodwill and friendship that led to the signing of the historic treaty on the sharing of Ganga waters would continue to govern the relations between our two countries.

The following is the text of the speech made by the Prime Minister at the function:

"I am delighted to join your excellency and the distinguished guests present here in welcoming to Dhaka all those who have travelled from India to Bangladesh on the occasion of the inaugural run of the bus service between Calcutta and Dhaka. This is indeed a joyous occasion for people in both countries. This is a service that we have long planned for and today we see it as a reality. For those of you who have made this landmark journey, I am sure it was a memorable experience. Think for a moment of what your trip today represents!

Every year a few lakh people cross the border check-points between our two countries. Their travel is expensive. The absence of a direct service has meant the travellers have had to walk across the border with their luggage. Today's inaugural run is, I hope, only the beginning of many more such facilities for people in both our countries. Our travellers include students in large numbers, medical patients, business people, pilgrims, tourists and people who have lived once on other side of our common border, causing them to travel between Bangladesh and India to enjoy the company and affection of their families and friends. It is my earnest hope that in the years ahead, with the cooperation of Government of Bangladesh similar facilities can be put in place for the many people who wish to travel between other destinations in our two countries. While it is befitting that we have begun the service between Calcutta and Dhaka, there is a lot more that we would love to do to promote road links between our countries.

The start of the service represents one more stage in the active agenda between India and Bangladesh. At the governmental level we deal with many issues big and small which affect the well-being of the people in both our countries. We promote culture, we discuss trade, we exchange ideas on how to improve border management. We hold meetings and conduct studies on the best ways to handle the rivers that we share. We also discuss problems dealing with narcotic drugs, crimes across the border, law and order and insurgency. I would like you to know that when we speak of good relations between our two countries, the Government of India derives great encouragement from the tremendous amount of interaction that takes place between the peoples of India and Bangladesh.

Many of our problems are similar and much of our heritage is common. Language, literature, music and art, at the same time, we are two separate, sovereign, independent countries who enjoy the kind of goodwill and understanding by which we are able to settle complex problems through bilateral dialogues. It was this approach that led to the signing of the historic treaty on the sharing of the Ganga waters. It is our conviction that the same approach of goodwill and friendship will continue to govern the relations between our two countries.

Our travellers have spent much of today driving through the Bangladesh countryside. In the month of 'Ashad' which brings the monsoon, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore sang wonderfully of how shadows of the clouds of 'Ashad' play around the 'Kadamba' groves, while the 'Piyal' trees swing in the wind and seem to dance; and I quote-

Perhaps in coming years we also see more routes and even rail services available to the general public. Whatever the future holds in the areas of these transport linkages, the people of India and Bangladesh will always look back to today's journey and to today's travellers as the ones who started the process. After an early start this morning I know that you will be tired and keen to rest. I am grateful to Her Excellency, the Prime Minister and the Government of Bangladesh for inviting me to Dhaka to join in this wonderful celebration.

Thank you. Namaskar".