Rail links to border ports sought

Traders have demanded of the government to establish rail communications through Shambhuganj, Haluagat and Gobrakura to the respective land-border ports to facilitate higher import-export trade with India, Bhutan and Nepal.   
Official sources said importers and exporters from Haluaghat of Mymensingh recently sent in letters to the ministries of finance and planning, and finance and railway secretaries with this demand.
Fulfilling their demand would require construction, improvement and repair of the existing rail lines through these areas, they said.  
The importance of Haluaghat has been on an increase for conducting international trade. Thousands of metric tonnes of mangoes are imported through Haluaghat land-port every day. The cost of transportation increases in absence of rail line in the areas, the letter reads.
The country will be benefited if the railway is expanded to connect seven neighbouring states of India, Nepal and Bhutan. The government gets revenue amounting to Tk 1.0 billion from the Haluaghat land-port every year, the letter also mentioned.
"We expect that the annual revenue earning from the Haluaghat land-port would rise to Tk 10 billion if the rail line is constructed and repaired from Shambhuganj, Haluagat and Gobrakura to the Indian border," a source said.
"We have demanded of the government to construct, improve and expand Shambhuganj, Haluaghat and Gobrakura lines to increase trade between neighbouring Bangladesh and India," the group of importers and exporters said.
"We are trying to export different items to India, including garments, cement, brick, dry fish and mosquito nets," they said in justifying their demand.
The government now earns revenue from the exports and imports done through the land-port every fiscal, they pointed out.
"This will increase manifold if the railway services are introduced from the port to the Indian border," said a customs official of the port, seeking anonymity.
A large number of exporters and importers are engaged in the port, which will increase in the future if the railway services are expanded, he said.
The land-border port will also ease travel to many Indian regions, including Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, Arunachal and West Bengal, he added.