Photo : Messenger
Trade between Bangladesh and India through the Benapole-Petrapole land port remained suspended since Monday morning due to India's Dol Jatra and Bangladesh's Independence Day holidays.
Though export and import have been suspended, the unloading of goods and other activities of the port were not uninterrupted.
Karthik Chakraborty, general secretary of Petrapol C&F Staff Welfare Association of India, and Sajedur Rahman, general secretary of Benapole C&F Agent Staff Association, confirmed the matter.
Kamruzzaman Biswas, officer-in-charge (OC) of Benapole Checkpost Immigration Police, said trade through the port would remain suspended for two days because of the holidays in both countries.
However, the movement of passengers would remain normal, added OC Kamruzzaman.
Rezaul Karim, director of the Benapole port, said export and import through the land port would start again on Wednesday morning.
The Benapole land port serves as an important port for the import and export of goods between India and Bangladesh. It is known as an important checkpoint between the two countries.
Bangladesh is India's largest development partner in the world and remains the biggest trade partner in South Asia in the last six years. Bilateral trade has grown from $7 billion to around $18 billion.
Bangladesh's exports to India reached nearly $2 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22.
India, with its diverse market, has emerged as the top export destination for Bangladesh in Asia.
There are 23 government-approved land ports in Bangladesh. Of them, 12 are operational. The Benapole port is one of the most important land ports, which is 84km from Kolkata.
Traders are very interested in using the port for export and import as a truck takes only three hours to reach Kolkata from the port.
Messenger/Disha
