Local industries suffering due to slow trade thru Benapole-Petrapole border

Expressing dismay over the slow pace of trading through Benapole-Petrapole border, Benapole Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents' Association -- in a letter to Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO -- said it has led to a crisis of raw material in Bangladeshi industries and soaring prices of perishable goods.

"Even though trade has resumed, due to complexity in your systems, export-import is not taking place to its potential of 500-700 trucks a day. A mere 10-20 trucks crossing the border will not achieve any business purpose," Mafizur Rahman Sajan, president of the Benapole body, said in the letter to the FIEO.

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"We are extremely unhappy with the situation," he said.

Sajadur Rahman, secretary of the association, said, "Several garment factories are suffering as they are not getting textile from India."

"If 200-300 trucks can enter our territory by noon, we can unload and release them by evening. But trucks are entering late. The last truck returned to India at 11:00pm on Tuesday," he said.

The trade between India and Bangladesh through the Petrapole land port in West Bengal has been sluggish since its resumption on last Sunday after a break caused by coronavirus.

Only 41 trucks carrying cargo crossed the border in the first two days and 41 more and 12 chassis of heavy vehicles went to Benapole on Tuesday, officials at Petrapole said.

Non-availability of drivers to take cargo to Bangladesh and problems related to parking of trucks in Petrapole has led to the problem, the official claimed.

The problem has brought to fore two issues: drivers' fear about coronavirus infection and mandatory isolation or quarantine and non-release of trucks from a parking lot allegedly controlled by the local Bongaon civic body at Kalitala in West Bengal, according to an official of the FIEO.

The FIEO had written to the Indian government to relax quarantine norms for drivers.

Formalities are carried out in the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) parking lot before trucks cross the border.

But, due to lack of space there, drivers initially park trucks at Kalitala and the Bongaon municipality earns revenue by collecting parking fees.

The parking issue at Kalitala was also raised by the Benapole Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents' Association in its letter.

The Bongaonmunicipality authorities have dismissed the allegation that it is not releasing trucks from the Kalitala parking lot.

Bangladeshi traders highlighted that Benapole is a green zone and does not pose any threat of coronavirus infection to drivers.

India-Bangladesh trade via the integrated check-post at Petrapole was stopped on May 2, after two days of operation, following protests by locals who were afraid that truckers and labourers could spread the virus.

Even before that, trade between the two neighbours via this land port in North 24 Parganas district has been in deadlock for more than a month over various issues including quarantine norms after India imposed the nationwide lockdown from March 25.

Meanwhile, trade has not yet resumed via Ghojadanga land custom station in North 24 Parganas district.