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years in unloading exported goods at Agartala land port in India because of
non-compliance with the loading and unloading time by the Indian side,
customs officials said. They said the loading and unloading time of the
bordering land ports was fixed from sunrise to sunset in a conference of
Joint Group of Custom by both the countries. But the neighbouring land port
hardly follows the decision, leading to a revenue loss of over Tk 30 crore a
year by the local port. They often start unloading at 9.30 am and close at 3
pm. Imtiaz Ahmed, land customs officer of the Akhaura port, alleged that
such indifferent activities are causing sufferings to the workers of the
stranded vehicles near the port here as some 30 to 50 trucks remain stranded
at the port everyday. The Bangladeshi exporters need to count a heavy loss
of more than Tk 2 ,000 per truck everyday. Ahmed said they could earn more
than Tk 200 crore as revenue a year if the Indian side followed the
timeframe of unloading goods. The port earned Tk 168.50 crore revenue last
fiscal year. The port officials several times raised the issue to the local
authorities concerned, but there has been no result yet. Cement, stone
chips, food products, fish, dry fish and toys are the main items that are
exported to India through the busy land port of the eastern zone of the
country, which is mainly known as an export-based port as Bangladesh does
not import much through it. However the Indian port has unofficially
informed the Akhaura port official that the unloading works are delayed
because of some official procedures there. The Indian side also said they
have made sheds for keeping the goods imported from Bangladesh, but those
are yet to open, and so the port cannot unload the goods timely. They also
need to keep the imports by the roadside, which takes time. They have to
work with limited government labourers at the port, the Indian side said.
