Indo-Bangla trade thru\\\' land ports hampered

Trade between Bangladesh and India through land ports is being seriously hampered because of poor infrastructure and long procedural delays, officials have said.
Bangladeshi officials in the upcoming meeting with their Indian counterparts will raise the issues and call for their immediate resolution for carrying out smooth bilateral trade, they added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently collected updated information about land ports from the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLDA) to discuss the issue in the next meeting with India.
According to the BLDA officials, nearly 100 India-bound trucks remain stranded each day at Benapole land port as the Indian authorities in Petrapole of West Bengal clear only 100 to 150 trucks out of 200 to 250 that gather there with export goods.
The land port always experiences heavy traffic congestion as goods-laden trucks remain stranded there. As a result, the cost of export to India increases due to demurrage charges realised by transport agencies for delayed delivery of export cargoes.
They said the Indian customs officials start work only after 12.00 noon. This hampers Bangladeshi exporters to complete various trade-related formalities. In the meeting, the Indian customs officials will be urged to start work from the beginning of working hour of the day.       
BLDA member Tapan Kumar Chakravorty told the FE Sunday the Indian side (Petrapole land port) does not have sufficient space for unloading/transshipment of Bangladeshi export items. As a result, Bangladeshi trucks have to wait in the queue for a long time.
He said due to the absence of warehouse facility in Petrapole, unloading of goods remains halted during rainy periods.
Mr Chakravorty said land acquisition in West Bengal is highly complicated with land port development on the Indian side delayed.
Both sides of the Banglabandha land port in Panchagarh have no immigration facility. The absence of quarantine facilities at the Indian side of the Sonamosjid land port forces Bangladeshi exporters to wait for a long time to get clearance from Kolkata in exporting agricultural products.
In some cases, the agro products become rotten due to the delay at the port.
In Ramnagar land port, opposite to Bangladesh's Akhaura land port, export of goods is delayed since quality is checked in Shillong, far away from the port. BLDA officials think that time can be saved if quality check is done in Agartala instead of Shillong.
To make the Ramgarh land port in Khagrachari functional, Bangladesh needs to construct a bridge over the Feni river. The land selection for the port is yet to be completed.
Officials said the Thegamukh land customs station bordering Demagiri of Mizoram has no road linkage with Chittagong seaport. They suggested that a road running through Thegamukh-Chotaharina-Belaichari-Rajeshari route may be constructed with financial support from India. This will connect the Thegamukh land port with Chittagong seaport via Chandraghona to facilitate bilateral trade.
The Indian side needs to develop the port and construct a bridge on the Thegakhai river flowing through the borderline of the two countries, the BLDA officials suggested.
BLDA member Mr Chakravorty said once the ports are developed necessarily, exporters will feel encouraged to carry out trade through the land ports.
He said land ports on the Indian side are inadequately developed. This causes delay in loading and unloading. Thus exporters need to bear extra carrying charge.
"Development of the ports on both sides will cut costs to users which ultimately will facilitate and raise bilateral trade," Mr Chakravorty added.