Birol land port elevation scheme remains undone
Our Correspondent | Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Our Correspondent
RANGPUR, Mar 7: The scheme of elevating Birol land port to a full-fledged one has been lying unimplemented for years. Situated at Pakura under Bhandara of Birol Upazila in Dinajpur district, the land port a has huge prospects of earning millions of taka as revenue annually, officials sources said. In 1997, the Customs and Excise Department prepared a proposal to elevate the land port and sent it to the government for sanction of required fund towards construction of its infrastructure. In its proposal the Customs also elaborated on the far-reaching prospects of the port once it was elevated. The then government undertook an initiative to execute the elevation proposal and accordingly, some land were acquired. But subsequently the scheme was left undone, for reasons best known to the authorities concerned. Birol land port has direct rail link with India. The distance between Birol railway station and Radhikapur railway station in West Bengal is only eight kilometres. Birol land port is the only prospective land port in Rangpur Division which has direct rail link with India from a close distance. At present the immigration and transit functions are being conducted by the port staff and customs officials at a small scale because of various disadvantages and poor amenities, said the sources. Local businessmen are eager to use the port as a convenient route for export and import purposes. They expressed the opinion that the government would be able to earn about 10 millions of Tk every year if the land port is turned into a full-fledged one. Cottage industry on the wane Another report adds: The cottage industry based on bamboo, cane and other fibrous plants are on the verge of extinction in Rangpur district with the flourishing of plastic goods in the market. As a result, a large number of people of the district were compelled to give up their ancestral profession. Once upon a time Badarganj, Pirgachha, Mithapukur, Kounia, Taragonj Upazilas of the district are famous for different products made of bamboo, cane and other fibrous plants. Products include Kula, Chailun, Dhama, Jhapi, Dolna, Mora are now on the verge of extinction and have been replaced by plastic goods. Now plastic goods have flooded the markets. People, especially rural people, who are engaged in such traditional profession, do not get fair prices of their products. Production costs have also increased several times. As a consequence about 80 per cent of the people who were engaged in cottage industries have left their profession, sources said. Many aged people who had been in their profession for a long time said that they were passing their days in abject poverty. The conscious people of the society opines that adequate steps should be taken to save this age old trade from extinction.
RANGPUR, Mar 7: The scheme of elevating Birol land port to a full-fledged one has been lying unimplemented for years. Situated at Pakura under Bhandara of Birol Upazila in Dinajpur district, the land port a has huge prospects of earning millions of taka as revenue annually, officials sources said. In 1997, the Customs and Excise Department prepared a proposal to elevate the land port and sent it to the government for sanction of required fund towards construction of its infrastructure. In its proposal the Customs also elaborated on the far-reaching prospects of the port once it was elevated. The then government undertook an initiative to execute the elevation proposal and accordingly, some land were acquired. But subsequently the scheme was left undone, for reasons best known to the authorities concerned. Birol land port has direct rail link with India. The distance between Birol railway station and Radhikapur railway station in West Bengal is only eight kilometres. Birol land port is the only prospective land port in Rangpur Division which has direct rail link with India from a close distance. At present the immigration and transit functions are being conducted by the port staff and customs officials at a small scale because of various disadvantages and poor amenities, said the sources. Local businessmen are eager to use the port as a convenient route for export and import purposes. They expressed the opinion that the government would be able to earn about 10 millions of Tk every year if the land port is turned into a full-fledged one. Cottage industry on the wane Another report adds: The cottage industry based on bamboo, cane and other fibrous plants are on the verge of extinction in Rangpur district with the flourishing of plastic goods in the market. As a result, a large number of people of the district were compelled to give up their ancestral profession. Once upon a time Badarganj, Pirgachha, Mithapukur, Kounia, Taragonj Upazilas of the district are famous for different products made of bamboo, cane and other fibrous plants. Products include Kula, Chailun, Dhama, Jhapi, Dolna, Mora are now on the verge of extinction and have been replaced by plastic goods. Now plastic goods have flooded the markets. People, especially rural people, who are engaged in such traditional profession, do not get fair prices of their products. Production costs have also increased several times. As a consequence about 80 per cent of the people who were engaged in cottage industries have left their profession, sources said. Many aged people who had been in their profession for a long time said that they were passing their days in abject poverty. The conscious people of the society opines that adequate steps should be taken to save this age old trade from extinction.