Link between two Bengals reforged on Poila Baishakh

“I want the court orders implemented fast. I know the concerned department of the state government is quite active, but other departments should also pitch in and do their bit in this regard,” he said.

Draped in flowers, the six-coach train began its journey for Dhaka at 7.10 am on “Poila Baishakh”, the Bengali New Year’s day. The train was briefly stopped at Aranghata in Nadia district by a group who squatted on the track demanding rehabilitation of Bangladeshi refugees. But the journey was soon resumed.

Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, who flagged off the train from Kolkata, agreed to a proposal floated by West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi that the birthday of poet Rabindranath Tagore be celebrated inside the train.

“The train service will foster ties between the two countries and I thank railway minister Lalu Prasad for making it possible,” Mukherjee said.

The railway minister described the introduction of the service, stopped in 1965, as a “new beginning” and said the train would carry the message of friendship. “We have introduced Samjhauta Express and Thar Express to Pakistan and now we are running Maitree Express,” he said.

Recalling his visit to Pakistan, Prasad said when he met President Pervez Musharraf, they had discussed peace between the two nations. “When my daughter got to know about my visit to Pakistan, she told me to be careful. But I received so much respect in Pakistan,” he added.

Dasmunsi said, “the friendship will remain between India and Bangladesh”.

Union Minister of state for Railways, R Velu, CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury and Bangladesh High Commissioner Liaqat Ali Choudhury were among others present on the occasion.

Rail service between Kolkata and Dhaka had snapped during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan.