Strike halts Benapole port activities for over 2 hours
Export-import trade between Bangladesh and India through Benapole land port came to a halt yesterday for two and a half hours due to a strike protesting arrest of a truck driver.
District Truck Workers' Co-ordination Council enforced the strike demanding release of Bangladeshi truck driver Rubel Hossain.
Benapole Customs Cargo Superintendent Tauhid Haldar said on June 14, Rubel entered Indian Petrapole port with a goods laden truck.
But the truck remained stranded at the port till June 19 as the Indian C&F agent did not submit the essential papers to customs office timely.
At this a team of Kolkata customs arrested Rubel from the Petrapole border and handed him to police.
Several meetings were held between Bangladeshi Truck Workers' Co-ordination Council and Indian Customs authorities to solve the matter but to no effect.
Yesterday, the council halted its activities from 12:00pm to 2:30pm as the discussion failed between the two sides.
Benapole truck workers' union general secretary Shahin Hossain said they will call for an indefinite strike at the port if the Indian authorities do not free Rubel by 11:00 am today.
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