Month: August 2021

The startup scenario in Bangladesh first came into existence in the early 2010s. This was a time when Bangladesh was seeing steady growth and increased accessibility all around. There are over 1000 startups in Bangladesh as of 2021 and the number is expected to grow as the country and the economy becomes more digitized. But are there enough funding opportunities for these startups? This is where angel investors come in. Though Bangladesh is yet to achieve a healthy investment ecosystem, angel investment has been playing a key role at the micro-level. Now, what is an angel investment and how do startups stand to benefit from it? Read along to find out.

What is angel investment?

Angel investment happens through an angel investor, that is someone with a considerable chunk of wealth who’s willing to invest in the early phase of a startup. While it’s mostly limited to the scope of a single-person investment, there are instances where an investment company acts as an angel investor in startups. The mechanism of angel investment is similar to other forms of investments. Here an angel investor invests a certain lump sum in the startup in exchange for ownership equity.

Angel investor faces a lot of risk in terms of the investment itself. A startup has several phases in its growth trajectory. It starts with an idea which then moves onto an MVP or market viable product. After that comes the growth, expansion, and maturity phase. While most venture investors, banks, and equity firms invest from the growth phase with IPO being exclusive to the maturity phase, the scope of an angel investor is limited up until MVP. The initial investment in the idea itself without any proof of product-market fit increases the investment risk exponentially. As a result, you might have to dish out larger equity for a lower investment.

The data regarding angel investment in Bangladesh might not be enough to give a glimpse into its implication in the startup sector. However, the lower limit of investment can be as low as 0.5 million BDT to upward of several million dollars.

What should you look for in an angel investor?

Now you might be thinking what’s there to look for in an angel investor? They are literally investing money in your startup when it’s nothing more than an idea. Compared with the rate of startup growth in Bangladesh, the chance of scoring an angel investor is slim as it is. However, there are still some aspects to be considered to make sure you make the most out of the deal and your investor. Because there are more to angel investing than giving up equity for cash. Here are our top 4 picks to consider.

Industry knowledge

An angel investor should have sufficient knowledge of the investing industry. Think of angel investors as mentors. Someone who has worked in the industry before knows the ins and outs and things to avoid which you won’t generally have access to in your starting phase. This will help any startup avoid potential pitfalls. A study conducted by Nesta showed that angel investor investing in a known industry sees a better return on their equity.

Seed investment experience

The growth of a startup happens in several phases. Having an angel investor with knowledge of startup growth and management can add insight to the process. Again, angel investors should be thought of like mentors to make the most out of the deal.

Their interest

An experienced angel investor will always be concerned about your product or service rather than the market size or product compatibility. The value proposition should revolve around your product and how it can be made better. As long as they have an interest in your product, you stand to gain from their expert input.

Network size

An angel investor is also the potential doorway to future investments. Even if their network doesn’t get you new investments, you still stand to get industry insights and mentorship from their network which can have a significant impact on the initial learning curve.

Checklist before raising investment

Investable business model

Design the startup model with lucrative investment opportunities. A potential angel investor needs to see the long-term return from the investment to make the first call. Highlight your model and potential returns for the investor to make an impeccable pitch.

Quirks of external investment

Understand the quirks that come with the external investment. Angel investment comes with its accountabilities and responsibilities. Raising external money means there’s an external stakeholder who will be overseeing your procedures. The added audit will change how you operate your business. So, it’s important to be prepared beforehand.

Understand the legal bindings

Speaking from the perspective of Bangladesh, the idea of raising money isn’t that common as of yet. As a result, many first-time founders don’t have the appropriate knowledge of the legal bindings that come with angel investment or any type of investment in general. It’s important to put equal emphasis on the deal as well as the legal bindings for the sake of long-term partnerships.

Is it worth it?

Beyond all the pros and cons of angel investment, the simple fact is that you will give up part ownership of what you founded. While this might seem like nothing, it can still have a long-run implication on how your business is run and its controls.

Before anything else, assess whether you actually need the inflow of money? Is the cost of the money worth what you are giving up? And finally, is it adding significant progress and benefit to your business? You should have a clear answer to these questions before you start looking for an angel investor.

Prepare yourself

Whether it’s an impeccable sales pitch, smart conduct, or a host of numerical analyses to project your success, whatever route you opt for, make sure that you are well prepared. Angel investor looks for founders who know what they are doing, rather than getting things done as they go. You need to show that you have what it takes and you have a vision with your startup to convince them.

How to get angel investment in Bangladesh

The network of angel investors isn’t quite developed in Bangladesh as the concept is still relatively new. However, various established entrepreneurs and tech CEOs of Bangladesh are taking an interest in angel investment. Now the question is, where can you find them?

Your network

Start by reaching out to people you know who might have a connection. The investing community in Bangladesh is quite tight-knit, especially when it comes to individual investors. Finding a personal connection can easily help to propel your idea to a potential investor.

Investor lookout

While using investment finding services isn’t recommended, you can still do your own digging. Keep on the lookout for a quarterly report on new startup investments in Bangladesh. You can easily compile a list of investors from them and start reaching out.

Find communities

The growing startup scene in Bangladesh has made way for many communities. While these communities work as a great place to get market and industry insight, you can also find potential investors from there. Programs like Accelerating Asia and BYLC ventures not only work with investment, they also train you to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Bottom Line

The startup scene in Bangladesh is now busier than ever. While it’s a positive sign in itself, the growth conversion still leaves much to be desired from the sector. Getting angel investment is no easy task but it’s also not something difficult if you know how to go about things. There will be countless rejections with hours after hours spent on failed leads. However, that’s how you write the story of a successful startup, that’s how you get to demonstrate your perseverance and leadership which is so crucial for a startup.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Any sporting event is, at its heart, a show. It has the actors on center stage, performing for the rest of us. It has the spectators, sitting in their seats watching raptly. And — in modern times, at least — it has the “home” audience, which in the past half century of growing video viewership has far outpaced the numbers of those actually in attendance.

At their halfway point, the Tokyo Olympics are still grappling with the fact that in that equation, the middle group — those spectators on the scene who cheer, gin up enthusiasm and add texture to the proceedings — couldn’t come. And in the COVID era, a key question presents itself: If an Olympics falls in the forest and nobody there hears it, did it really make a sound?

The Japan organizing committee’s president, Seiko Hashimoto, thinks it will. She said a couple weeks ago that she wasn’t worried that a locked-down, crowdless Olympics — what she calls the “`Tokyo model” — would fundamentally change the experience. “The essence of the Games,” Hashimoto said, “will remain the same.”

They won’t, of course. They already aren’t. And in fairness, how could they, when part of that very essence — the roar of a real, live crowd — has been excised out of (you know the phrase by now) an abundance of caution?

During the 18 months of the coronavirus pandemic, the relationship between the watched and the watchers in audience-based public events has shifted tectonically. Productions that normally happen in front of crowds — crowds that, it’s worth noting, both watch performances and sometimes become an integral part of them — have changed in various ways.

Some entertainment venues turned to presenting performances to people in parked cars, much like drive-in movies; one comedian, Erica Rhodes, filmed a TV special outside the Rose Bowl in California and relied on honking horns for the bulk of her audience response. It added a kinetic, if cacophonous, energy.

On TV, the iconic game show “The Price Is Right,” whose fundamental DNA relies on audience members to “come on down!” and become contestants, shut down for six months and then returned with mostly empty seats and contestants who aren’t surprised to be chosen.

But when it comes to fan interaction, sports, arguably, have been affected the most of all.

Last summer, once big league baseball resumed without fans in the seats, the sport deployed recorded, piped-in crowd noise for the benefit of both athletes and fans watching at home. Most ballparks even created cardboard figures (customizable for a price, of course) to mimic spectator action, a novel if laughable pivot.

It was, though, part of a cultural landscape that has been under construction for a long time.

Sixty years ago, Daniel J. Boorstin, a historian who became the Librarian of Congress, came up with a term: the “pseudo-event.” Among its traits: It is not spontaneous, but planned. It is created primarily for the purpose of being reproduced. And its success is measured in how widely it is reported, and in how many people watch it.

Pair that with these astonishing figures: The International Olympic Committee generates almost 75% of its income from the sale of broadcast rights. About 40% of the IOC’s total income is from one source — NBC, the U.S. broadcast rights-holder. And estimates suggest canceling the Tokyo Olympics might have cost the IOC $3 billion to $4 billion.

Those numbers shout one thing. For all of its focus on the athletes and their accomplishments, this event was made to be watched — and, what’s more, made to be watched by people who aren’t here in Tokyo.

“The audience in the venue is no longer the economics. The media is the economics,” says Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

That was an emerging axiom in the late 20th century, and a more ubiquitous one today. But there’s another question to ask, too: Does the lack of on-site crowds impact the quality of at-home viewing?

On one hand, the vantage points from your recliner are better than anything you could see in person. The best ticket at an Olympic venue couldn’t begin to approximate what an NBC camera sees. “We’re not only in the best seats; we’re in seats that don’t even exist,” Thompson says.

And yet …

There is a very real purpose to crowds, beyond how they impact athletes and performers who are actually there. Research has shown that at-home audiences watching competition — and other forms of entertainment — react to the feeling that they have proxies who are really in the arena. That, in effect, if we can’t be there, we know there are people like us who are.

“There’s a reason sitcoms have laugh tracks. Seeing and hearing other people enjoy a thing leads us to enjoy that thing,” says Jennifer Talarico, a professor of psychology at Lafayette College who studies how people remember personally experienced events.

Laugh tracks, in use since TV’s early days, were designed to prompt audiences about when to find something funny. But the underlying message is deeper: If we know others are watching and being entertained, it paves the way for our entertainment. That bears out today in the popularity of YouTube videos showing gamers as they game, and in shows like Britain’s “Gogglebox,” in which TV audiences watch … TV audiences watching TV.

There’s the pathos factor, too. The prevailing American Olympic TV narratives — emotion-saturated backstories about individuals, backed by loved ones, working hard and triumphing — are typically intertwined with crowd shots that include those very supporters watching the achievements happen.

“That doesn’t carry through when you can’t pan through to Mom in the crowd,” Talarico says. “Mom isn’t there. She’s still in the same place that she was before. I think that makes the crowd aspect of the Olympics even more influential than a major league baseball game.”

There are mitigating factors to Tokyo’s empty seats during these Games. Social media fills in the gaps to some extent; instead of watching a community of watchers, we can now form our own.

But it’s not quite the same, is it? There’s a reason that young boys playing driveway basketball stop after a shot and shout, “He shoots, he scores!” before cupping their hands to their mouth to approximate a crowd’s roar. There’s nothing like it.

And when TV cameras pan various Olympic venues and find emptiness, or even seats painted in seemingly random drab colors to look as if there are people in them, it’s clear that something — that certain something that only a crowd can provide — is glaringly absent.

In the era of screens and of vicarious watching and global live broadcasts, three simple words, “I was there,” still hold power — even if you’re one of the ones who aren’t.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Auto-rickshaw and light vehicle drivers have alleged that they are not receiving any financial aid from city corporations or any other administrative office despite the government’s promise to provide them lockdown cash and food support.

In a statement on Saturday, Abul Hossain and Golam Faruk, President and General Secretary of the Bangladesh Auto-Rickshaw Light Vehicle Transport Workers Federation (BALTWF) respectively, said their organisation has submitted the list of affected transport workers to the Relief Ministry, City Corporations and deputy commissioners.

“But we received no response from any administration as yet”, they said adding, it is frequently heard that the government has allocated crores of taka and tons of foods for the affected transport workers in the lockdown.

“All these are reported by newspapers. Where these supports are gone?,” they raised question.

The statement mentioned that the BALTWF have also placed their demands through press conference, meeting and human chain programmes in front of National Press Club. But no one heeded their appeals.

It said the transport workers fear hunger more than coronavirus.

The BALTWF leaders urged the government lift the ban on transport movement considering livelihoods emergency of the auto-rickshaw and light vehicles drivers and workers.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

With the US and NATO forces almost at the end of their pullout, a Taliban regime seems more and more worrying for many inside particularly women. Many are now asking for a UN Peace Keeping force when the US and its allies leave. Right now, no such proposal apparently exists.

Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to go to school, work outside the home or leave their house without a male escort. In the post –Taliban era, things have much improved but a return naturally is scary. The Associated Press reports that , 140 civil society and faith leaders from the U.S, Afghanistan and other countries have requested the U.S. President Joe Biden to call for a U.N. peacekeeping force “to ensure that the cost of U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is not paid for in the lives of schoolgirls.” On May 8, a bomb in a Hazara school in Kabul on May 8 killed nearly 100 people, mostly young girls. Hazars are Shia minority unlike the Sunni dominated Taliban.

The signatories are saying that the US had mentioned protecting women was part of the peace deal but now they are left vulnerable. In some ways, it shows the weakness of social movements across the globe. These Human rights groups are linked mostly to the US so as US declines so do thweir support bases. Sakena Yacoobi, a signatory says, “What the Taliban did in the 1990s was bad enough. What will they do now, with a generation of women taught to expect freedom? Help us save them. “

The Taliban position and the UN

In April the Taliban promised that women “can serve their society in the education, business, health and social fields while maintaining correct Islamic hijab.” It promised girls would have the right to choose their own husbands, but offered few other details.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, expressing concern has called for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to deploy to Afghanistan “as soon as practically possible.” The letter to the U.S. ambassador said similar messages were being sent to other U.N. ambassadors from citizens in their countries asking for a peacekeeping operation.

A U.S. mission spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the call for a U.N. peacekeeping force. Instead, it was said that the Biden administration will continue to support Afghan forces and U.S. “diplomatic, humanitarian and economic engagement in the region.”

The United Nations has a political mission in Afghanistan. A U.N. peacekeeping mission would have to be approved by the Security Council, where the five permanent members — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — have veto power.

That means both China and Russia has to agree to a Peacekeeping force so the chances are rather low. The US departure which now increasingly looks “hasty” and that is why the desperate Afghan voices are probably falling on deaf ears.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Prof. Dr. Sarker Sujit Kumar, chairman of Rajshahi University Bangla department, has alleged that he has been threatened by supporters of Shafiqul Islam Shimul, an Awami League MP from Natore-2 constituency.

Prof. Sujit Kumar on July 29 filed a general diary in Boalia police station of Rajshahi city against Shafiqul, also AL general secretary of Natore district, demanding his and his family’s safety.

According to the general diary, the professor in 2009 wrote a book on history, heritage and the liberation war of Natore district. He made a list of the war criminals of the district by collecting information from the local people. Shafiqul’s father was listed as a war criminal in that book and that’s why the lawmaker is threatening the professor.

Prof, Sujit Kumar said MP Shafiqul’s men on July 26 threatened him using rough language at a press conference and that was published in a section of the media. He filed a GD for his and his family’s safety.

GD investigation officer SI Nadim Uddin said, they will investigate and verify the allegation and take action accordingly.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Sunday seeking direction to allocate enough beds at all government and private hospitals and to supply high-flow nasal cannula, oxygen and medical supplies to district hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

The petition was submitted by Supreme Court lawyers advocate ZU Khan Panna, Sayeda Nasrin and Md Shahinuzzaman on behalf of human rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).

The petition was filed against the Health Secretary and Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Reports published in national newspapers on the crisis of medical supplies to hospitals were also attached with the petition.

Bench of justice M Enayetur Rahim is likely to hold a virtual hearing on the writ this week, court sources told UNB.

The writ petition said direction needs to be passed to increase the number of beds at hospitals and to transfer Covid patients to private hospitals when they fail didn’t get seats in government ones as Covid situation is worsening in the country.

The petition also requested an interim order and rule on taking legal action against private hospitals for refusing to admit Covid-19 patients, prioritizing treatment of pregnant Covid patients and making the treatment cost bearable for the poor.

The petition also asked for taking necessary steps to ensure proper monitoring of the Covid patients and arranging hygienic and quality food for them.

Earlier on July 11, a legal notice was sent by ASK to the government to take necessary steps within three days. After getting no reply from the authorities the writ petition was filed.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Ambassador of Bangladesh to Austria and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Agencies and other International Organizations in Vienna Muhammad Abdul Muhith has taken over the chairmanship of the Group of Aisa-Pacific States (APG) in Vienna.

In the 54-member group, the Chair plays a vital role in coordinating the positions of this unique and diverse group with regard to the UN agencies, conferences and processes based in Vienna, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

Ambassador Muhith vowed to effectively promote the APG’s collective interests on important issues such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), innovative and peaceful use of nuclear technology, climate action, inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID), and to tackle global challenges such as transnational crimes including terrorism, narcotic drugs and corruption as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resilient and green recovery.

Bangladesh took over the Chairmanship from Afghanistan at a virtual handover ceremony recently which was attended by the Permanent Representatives and other diplomats of the APG member states in Vienna.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The government will resume administering the second dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from Monday in Dhaka division.

Dr Shamsul Haque, director of the vaccination program of the Health Department informed this in the regular Covid health bulletin on Sunday

It will be administered in all centres across the country from August 7.

He said SMS will be sent to the people who have taken the first dose of AstraZeneca. However, those who have received SMS for the second dose earlier but have not been vaccinated will not need the SMS to take the second shot.

On Saturday, Bangladesh received the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan under the COVAX facility.

The second consignment contains 7,81,320 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.

The third consignment that will contain 6,16,780 doses of the vaccine is scheduled to arrive here on Tuesday.

In this regard, the director said, “We’ll be able to vaccinate those waiting for the second dose of this vaccine.”

The government started mass vaccination through Covishield (AstraZeneca) vaccine in last February.

However, 15,21,000 people did not get the second dose of after the stock of the jabs purchased from India ran out. Around 58 lakh people received the first dose and 42 lakh people took the 2nd dose of the vaccine so far.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Seoul in partnership with the Embassy of India in Seoul, Indian Art Museum, Tagore Society of Korea and the Bengali Association of Korea and expatriate Bangladeshis celebrated the “Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti” Saturday.

Also, the centenary of the publication of Kazi Nazrul Islam’s poem “Bidrohi” (The Rebel) was observed, and a cultural presentation on the music and poems written by Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam was released.

The Bangladesh Embassy, for the first time, celebrated the Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti and centenary of the publication of Nazrul’s poem Bidrohi in partnership with the Indian Embassy in Seoul, Indian Art Museum, Tagore Society of Korea, expatriate Bangladeshis and the Bengali Association of Korea.

The event was divided into two segments. The first part, conducted by Ambassador Abida Islam, consisted of congratulatory speeches by Sripriya Ranganathan, Indian Ambassador to South Korea, Padma Shri Dr Kim Yang-shik, director of Indian Art Museum in Seoul and a discussion on Nazrul’s poem Bidrohi by Kalyani Kazi, the daughter-in-law of the poet.

It also included the recitation of the poems including recitations of the poem Bidrohi coupled with performance. In addition, members of the Tagore Society of Korea recited Tagore’s poems in Korean from Gitanjali.

The second segment of the event consisted of the dance and song recitals from the songs on the six seasons of the Bengali calendar written by both Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Ambassador Abida Islam touched upon the invaluable contributions of both Rabindra and Nazrul to the development of Bangla language and literature, Bengali culture and to the context of the then socio-political scenario of Bengal.

She mentioned that Rabindranath is a familiar literary figure to the Korean people for his poem “The Lamp of the East” whereas Nazrul is comparatively less known, and the celebration of the Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti and centenary of the publication of the poem Bidrohi is an initiative to promote the two literary icons of Bengali literature – Rabindra and Nazrul – as well as their literary works and ideas to the Korean people.

Sripriya Ranganathan mentioned that Tagore Jayanti has been celebrated jointly by the Indian Embassy in Seoul and Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul for the past few years.

Dr Kim Yang-shik mentioned the great contribution of Rabindra and Nazrul to Bengali literature.

To promote the literary works and ideas of these two literary figures she particularly underscored the need for cultural exchanges.

Kalyani Kazi, the daughter-in-law of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, in her discussion on the poem Bidrohi touched upon the background of the composition of the poem as well as the influence of the poem against the backdrop of the socio-political context of that time.

The second segment of the event consisted of Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Sangeet, dance recital and instrumental music centred on the six seasons of the Bengali calendar.

Members of the Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul, Tagore Society of Korea and Bengali Association of Korea participated in this cultural event.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has decided to resume the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football 2020-21 Tuesday after a break of two weeks.

Chittagong Abahani will play Uttar Baridhara Club at the Kamalapur Stadium; Rahmatganj MFS will face Brothers Union at the Bangabandhu National Stadium when the league restarts.

BFF Senior Vice-President and Professional Football League Management Committee Chairman Abdus Salam Murshedy informed the media about the federation’s latest decision Sunday.

“Including the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Banani as a BPL Football venue is also on the cards,” he said.

The BPL, which had earlier been scheduled to restart on July 24 after the Eid holidays, was deferred to July 30.

Once again, it was put off Friday. The postponement came just 60 minutes before matches had been due to start.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A Dhaka court on Sunday sent film actress Eka to jail after rejecting bail in two cases filed over torture of her house maid with a motive to murder and illegal possession of narcotics.

Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Md Jashim also rejected police prayer to remand her for three days in each case.

The bail and remand hearing was held when after police produced Eka before the court.

Earlier the lawyer of the defendant submitted a bail petition before the court.

On Saturday, Eka’s house help filed a case against her for torturing and another case was filed by police finding narcotic substances at her home, both at Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Hatirjheel police station.

Police arrested Eka on Saturday from her apartment in the Ulon area at Hatirjheel area for allegedly torturing her house help.

Officer-in-Charge of Hatirjheel police station, Abdur Rashid said they were informed of the incident through a phone call in helpline number 999 in the afternoon.

They rescued the injured housemaid Hajera,30, from the apartment and sent her immediately to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.

“The housemaid had injury marks on her head and hands”, said police sources.

Hajera’s husband said Eka asked Hajera on Saturday to stay overnight for help in shifting to a new house. But she declined. A furious Eka then asked her not to come the next day.

“As Hajera asked for her dues Eka hit her with some heavy object. Hearing her scream a neighbour informed the police ”, said Hajera’s husband.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh and India on Sunday started regular operation of freight trains through restored Haldibari-Chilahati rail route, aiming to “strengthen rail connectivity and bilateral trade” between the two countries.

It will also enhance rail network accessibility to the main ports and dry ports to support the growth in regional trade and to encourage economic and social development of the region, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Sunday.

The Haldibari- Chilahati rail link is the fifth rail link between Bangladesh and India that has been made operational.

The commodities that can be exported from India to Bangladesh through this rail route include stones and boulders, food grain, fresh fruits, chemical fertilizer, onion, chilies, garlic, ginger, fly ash, clay, limestone and wood.

From Bangladesh to India all exportable commodities are permitted.

Indian Railways dispatched the first freight train loaded with stones from Damdim station of Northeast Frontier Railway to Bangladesh.

After the partition in 1947, 7 rail links were operational between India and the then East Pakistan (up to 1965).

Presently, there are four operational rail links between Bangladesh and India.

These are – Petrapole (India) – Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (India) – Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh), Radhikapur (India)–Birol (Bangladesh).

The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link is one such route which was operational till 1965.

The leadership of both Bangladesh and India are committed to revive all the pre-1965 railway links between the two countries.

The restoration work was undertaken by the railways of both the countries to revive this rail link.

After the restoration, this railway link between Haldibari (India) and Chilahati (Bangladesh) was jointly inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and India during the PM level virtual bilateral summit on December 17, 2020.

Source: United News of Bangladesh