IMPHAL, Feb 27 � Five days after its formal flagging off ceremony by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata, Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh today hosted a reception-cum-flag off ceremony of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) Car Rally at the historic Kangla Fort in Imphal.
The BCIM Car Rally from Kolkata to Kunming (China), which is scheduled to cover 3,028 km, aims to retrace the lost trails and revive commercial trade in the �Southern Silk Route� which was closed post World War II.
�The historical ties and links among the people will be revived now�, said Chief Minister Ibobi while addressing the gathering which was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam and other ministers besides various officials.
The Centre has decided to provide visa on arrival in Moreh, to Myanmarese citizens. The visa arrangements for Bangladesh and China may also been eased. With flags of the four nations in their hands, school children in their uniforms greeted the 80 rallyists which included 13 from Bangladesh, 20 from China, 25 from India, 17 from Myanmar and 5 other officials who drove all the way from Kolkata on February 22 in twenty Tata SUV cars.