Chilahati-Holdibari rail link resumed after 55 years

Dhaka (Dec 17, 2020): The rail communication on Chilahati-Holdibari route resumed following a virtual meeting held on Thursday between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The virtual meeting began around 11:30am and the rail communication was reopened formally around 12:00noon after 55 years of its postponement, following addresses of the two prime ministers in the virtual meeting.

1965, there had been rail communication between Chilahati in northern area of Bangladesh and Holdibari in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. After the fag end of India-Pakistan war, the rail line has been snapped.

Later, the matter was discussed when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India in 2011 and the two countries then reached a decision to reopen the rail communication. And finally, the rail communication on the route resumed today following the virtual summit.

During the summit, Bangladesh and India devised plan to take the bilateral relations of the two countries to the next level through expanding cooperation based on outcome of the summit.

summit began around 11:30am virtually due to the outbreak of coronavirus across the world. At the beginning of the summit, Modi delivered his speech first and then, Sheikh Hsina addressed the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina took part in the meeting from her official residence Gono Bhaban in Dhaka while Narendra Modi joined the meeting from his office in New Delhi.

Earlier in the day, seven Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed between the two countries at the State Guesthouse Padma in Dhaka.

and high officials of seven concerned ministries of Bangladesh and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka, Vikram K Doraiswami, signed the MoUs on behalf of both the sides.

cooperation documents in the areas of Bilateral Trade, Agriculture, Energy Cooperation (hydrocarbon), Elephant Preservation and Protection, High Important Development Community Project, Sewerage Treatment Plant in Barishal, and Cooperation between National Museum in New Delhi and Bangabandhu National Museum in Dhaka, were signed during the virtual meeting.