The tumultuous situation in Bangladesh has halted the bilateral trade with India with exporters based in Bengal apprehending more losses if the business activities don’t resume in the next few days.
A rough estimate by the exporters shows they are losing around ₹200 crore a day as trucks are not moving between India and Bangladesh through land ports in Bengal.
Since Monday, trade has stopped between the countries, particularly after the downfall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Dhaka.
“We are perturbed over the situation.... Hundreds of trucks are stranded at the border and many of them have perishable items. If these are not unloaded during the next couple of days, we will have to simply dump items such as onions. Our representatives are in constant touch with the officials of Customs, BSF and other concerned departments so that trade can be resumed at the earliest,” said Brij Kishore Prasad, secretary, of the North Bengal Exporters’ Association.
In north Bengal, goods are transported to Bangladesh through four land ports. Among these, goods, particularly boulders from Bhutan go to Bangladesh via Fulbari, which is on the southern outskirts of Siliguri.
“Through Fulbari, a few Indian trucks carry boulders to Bangladesh. It is mostly the trucks,” said an exporter.
However, in the three other land ports — Changrabandha in Cooch Behar, Hili in South Dinajpur and Mahadipur in Malda — goods are exported from India.
“Altogether, goods worth around ₹30 crores are exported through these three land ports. The principal land port which handles most of the cargo for Bangladesh is Petrapole (in North 24 Parganas) and goods worth around ₹175 crores are exported to Bangladesh through this route every day. It is evident, that exporters are bearing huge losses,” said Manoj Kumar Kanu, the president of Changrabandha Exporters Association.
As trade has stopped due to the unrest in Bangladesh, around 300 Indian truck drivers with their vehicles have been stranded in the neighbouring country.
“Initiatives have been taken to bring back the drivers and yesterday, some of them have returned via Petrapole and Changrabandha. We believe by tomorrow, all the drivers and the trucks will be back in India,” said a source.
The exporters mentioned that even if the trade resumes, they are worried about the security of the trucks and the goods.
“The law and order situation is in shambles... even if the trade starts, there is always a risk of theft or loot or other damage. We hope the Bangladeshi authorities will make adequate arrangements for the safety of our drivers, the trucks and the goods,” said Prasenjit Ghosh, the secretary of the Mahadipur Exporters’ Association.
Though trade has stopped at the borders, the movement of people continued through these transit routes. While some Bangladeshi nationals returned to their homes today, some others walked into India on different errands.
Such a situation in the neighbouring country has put the Border Security Force (BSF) on a high alert. On one hand, they have stepped up vigil at the borders while, on the other hand, they have interacted with people living in the Indian villages which are close to the Indo-Bangla border.
“The exercise has been initiated to alert the villagers so that they communicate with the BSF or the local police in case there is any unusual development in their areas,” said a source.
The Guwahati frontier of the BSF, which guards 509km of the Bangladesh border from Cooch Behar of Bengal to South Salamara Mankachar in Assam, has deployed 11 battalions and a water wing at the border. The surveillance at all land customs stations has also been intensified, sources said.
