By IANS,
Kolkata : The BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) Car Rally will set out on an epic 3,000-km odyssey from Helipad Ground in the mammoth Salt Lake Stadium complex here Feb 22 to Kunming in China.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will flag off altogether 20 cars – 10 from the Tata Motors stable and 10 made by Hawtai of China – amid cheering and waving from thousands of people, and of course, hopes for a new beginning.
Beginning its journey in Kolkata, the BCIM Car Rally will traverse through mountainous terrains, dense jungles, vast, fertile plains to deep valleys, across wild streams to expansive rivers via Jessore, Dhaka, Sylhet, Silchar, Imphal, Ka Lay, Mandalay, Ruili, Tengchong, Erhai Lake, and Dali before culminating in Kunming March 5.
In Imphal, the capital of Manipur, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh will be waiting to greet the teams as the rally passes through before crossing borders into Myanmar.
Sponsored by Tata Motors, and supported by the governments of the four countries, the BCIM Car Rally comprising 80 participants from India, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar is being organised and coordinated by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Many government departments, agencies and industrial houses are chipping in with help and monetary assistance.
The BCIM region has a market of 2.8 billion people, and a GDP of $9.3 trillion as in 2011. It offers great opportunities for intra-regional cooperation.