Exports and imports through the country's most land ports slowed down in January and February last due to the non-stop transport blockade marked by frequent hartal calls and violence.
Exports through the land ports were being hampered seriously as transport of goods throughout the country became risky and more expensive than the usual, mainly because of arson and bomb attacks since commencement of the BNP-led 20-party alliance's blockade on January 6 last.
Although the situation improved slightly in recent days, customs officials still fear that the revenue earnings target might not be achieved in the third quarter of the current fiscal year due to the dwindling volume of cargoes at most of the land ports on the border.
According to Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA), cargo handling - both loading and unloading - declined substantially in January and February compared to that in the previous months because of the non-stop blockade marked by frequent hartals.
As per the BLPA data, transport of cargoes declined by about 0.378 million (3.78 lakh) tonnes or 35 per cent in January last compared to that in the previous month (December 2014).
In January last a total of 0.696 million (6.96 lakh) tonnes of cargoes were handled by the country's nine land ports compared to 1.074 million tonnes of goods in December last. During the period about 70,911 trucks carrying goods crossed the borders compared to about 82,594 in the previous month.
Sonamasjid and Hili land ports saw an unexpected decline in transport of goods in the month of January.
Trade of goods at Sonamasjid came down to 94,000 tonnes in January from 368,512 tonnes in December last, down by about 75 per cent. Trade at Hili land port also came down to 52,773 tonnes in January from 102,908 tonnes in December, down by more than 48 per cent.
Although the situation improved slightly in February at Hili, there was no improvement in other land ports. Rather, the situation got worse at Bhurimari, Banglabandh, Sonamasjid and Bhomra.
Cargo handling at Bhurimari decreased by about 70 per cent. A total of 50,169 tonnes of cargoes were handled at the Bhurimari land port in February against 162,521 tonnes in January last.
The number of trucks carrying export and import goods came down to 5,526 in February from 10,149 in January last. Cargoes handled at Sonamasjid and Banglabandh land ports also fell by 32 per cent and 13 per cent respectively in February compared to the previous month.
The authority has 20 land customs stations, declared as land ports. Of them, nine have facilities for exports and imports through land routes.
They are at Benapole in Jessore, Sonamasjid in Chapainawabganj, Hili in Dinajpur, Bhurimari in Lalmonirhat, Akhaura in Brahmanbaria, Bibirbazar in Comilla, Banglabandha in Panchagarh, Teknaf in Cox's Bazar and Bhomra in Satkhira.
The government, sources said, had been incurring losses over the last three months as the country's export-import through major land ports was badly disrupted due to the BNP-led combine's indefinite blockade.
At the initial stage of the blockade, especially in January and February, several hundred goods-laden Indian trucks remained stuck at Benapole, Sonamasjid and Hili land ports as the required number of Bangladeshi trucks could not reach there for unloading goods due to the blockade that left several trucks torched and vandalised.
According to sources, loading and unloading both at sea and land ports were facing serious trouble. Lack of transports caused container congestions. Businessmen were paying extra charges for the delay in clearance of commodities both at sea and land ports. Cashing in on the political unrest, truckers also charged high fares.
The authorities, however, continued with their efforts to keep the ports functional by providing security with the help of law enforcers to the goods-laden trucks.
mzrbd@yahoo.com
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