Blockade disrupts Benapole activities

Ongoing arson attacks on the goods-laden vehicles on highways across the country amid the BNP-led 20 party-enforced blockade is discouraging businessmen to take delivery of imported goods at the Benapole Land Port, reports bdnews24.com.

It has caused a massive piling up of goods worth millions of taka under an open sky, as hundreds of Indian trucks are waiting for unloading for days triggering fears of losses.

The port's Assistant Director Monirul Islam said Benapole has a capacity for handling 47,000 tonnes of goods.

Its 36 warehouses, five yards for transshipment and two terminals are full to the brim with over 80,000 tonnes of goods, as businessmen did not clear unloading fearing attacks by pro-blockade elements.

According to the Customs Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) agent association, 350 trucks loaded with Indian goods arrive at Benapole on an average every day, while about 500 trucks leave the port with goods for various destinations in Bangladesh.

"But the number has come down to half during the blockade leading to the worst-ever pile up of goods in the port's history," the association's Joint General Secretary Jamal Hossain said.

Nearly 2,000 Indian trucks are stranded at the port, he added.

An importer has to pay Tk 2,000 extra each day if a truck waits at the land port. It is taking up to 10 days to release the goods as there is lack of space in the warehouses.

Benapole port importer-exporters' association Joint Secretary Mohsin Milon said transport owners are charging double due to the risks on the highways.

They also have to pay twice or thrice the amount for using the port's warehouses after a certain period.

Meanwhile, Indian truck owners have threatened to boycott Benapole alleging sufferings of their drivers and assistants who are stuck there for several days.

Dilip Das, general secretary of an Indian truck owners association, told the news agency that their drivers were being harassed regularly.

"Port authorities did not address the issue despite repeated requests," he said, adding they would go on strike from tomorrow (Sunday) if their problems are not solved by then.

Benapole's Assistant Director Monirul Islam said that they were aware of the allegations. "We're trying to solve the problems," he added.