Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have finalised six routes for passenger-carrying and personal vehicles to travel across each other’s borders from next January.
The vehicles will cross borders in accordance with the BBIN motor vehicle agreement.
One route goes from Kolkata to Chittagong via Benapole-Jessore-Dhaka while another from Chittagong to Shiligurhi via Dhaka-Hatikumrul-Bogra-Rangpur-Burhimari.
A third route is from Dhaka to Bhutan’s Thimphu via Hatikumrul-Bogra-Rangpur-Burhimari through India’s Chengrhabanda-Joygaon and Bhutan’s Phuentsholing.
The other routes include Dhaka-Kathmandu route via Hatikumrul-Bogra-Rangpur-Banglabanda through India’s Phulbarhi-Panitanki and Nepal’s Kakrhavita; Kolkata to Bhutan’s Samdrup Jongkhar via Dhaka-Sarail-Sylhet-Tamabil through India’s Dauki-Shillong-Guwahati; and Khulna to Kolkata via Jessore-Benapole.
On September 23, each country finalised the draft protocol separately which will be signed by October.
Chandan Kumar Dey, joint secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, said: “We have already fixed six routes to travel to the BBIN countries and a bilateral protocol will be signed among the countries in October in this regard.”
“A traveler intending to visit BBIN countries on his/her own must get permission from the BRTA. After the permission is granted s/he will be allowed to apply for visas for traveling,” he said.
Travelers will be allowed to travel by their private car or microbus but no motorbike, CNG-run auto-rickshaw and cab are allowed to ply the BBIN routes, he added.
