West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hoped that the BCIM Car Rally would help in establishing peace in the Southeast Asian countries of Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar.
Flagging off the first-ever BCIM car rally, Banerjee said, "You (the participants) are our ambassadors to bring peace in the Southeast Asia region. Mix up with people, spread the message of peace and love."
Banerjee also said the rally would revive the trade and cultural potentiality in the neglected north-east region.
"North-east region has an excellent growth opportunity but its been neglected always. I am sure the rally would boost the trade and culture of the area," she said.
Addressing the gathering, CII president Adi Godrej said the car rally will help in establishing more dialogue process in the future.
Thanking the West Bengal CM for playing an instrumental role in the organisation of the rally, Godrej said, "The chief minister took personal interest and her intervention helped in organising the rally. We want to make Kolkata the fulcrum of our relations. It will forge new horizons. We seek to rejuvenate friendly links through this rally."
Earlier, a troupe from Purulia depicted the act of 'Mahisashura Mardini- slayer of the buffalo demon by Goddess Durga' with an electrifying Chhau dance during the glittering flag-off ceremony.
The rally will have 20 cars, comprising 80 participants from the four nations.
The 3028 km long rally will traverse through mountainous terrains, dense jungles, vast fertile plains to deep valleys, wild streams to expansive rivers via Jessore, Dhaka, Sylhet, Silchar, Imphal, Ka Lay, Mandalay, Ruili, Tengchong, Erhai Lake, Dali, before reaching the final destination in the Yunnan Province in Southwest China on March 5.
Organised by BCIM Forum for Regional Cooperation, the cross-country rally hopes to revive a historical route as the region has a market of 2.8 billion people, and a GDP of USD 9.3 trillion, as in 2011, offering great opportunities for intra-regional cooperation.
