Agartala, Sept. 18: The decks have been cleared for inauguration of the Agartala-Dhaka bus service tomorrow at the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) office in Dhaka.

Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar and chief secretary V. Thulasidas have already reached Dhaka. Sarkar is scheduled to meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia this evening as well as hold meetings with Bangladesh transport minister Nazmul Hoda and foreign minister M. Morshed Khan.

The Bangladesh chambers of commerce and industry are organising a luncheon in honour of the Tripura chief minister in Dhaka’s Sheraton Hotel today.

Union surface transport minister B.C. Khanduri also reached Dhaka today in response to an invitation extended by his Bangladeshi counterpart.

The inaugural function of the service will be held at the BRTC headquarters at Motijhil in Dhaka tomorrow. After the function, a BRTC bus named Shyamali will leave for Agartala.

Sarkar, Thulasidas, Khanduri and Hoda will head for Agartala in separate vehicles. The passengers of the BRTC bus and the dignitaries would be accorded a reception at Akhaura checkpost on Agartala’s western outskirts.

The second part of the function will be held at the Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) headquarters at Krishna Nagar area in Agartala at 3 pm and the TRTC bus Maitree would be formally flagged off.

Official sources here said the commercial run of the service would start on Monday.