India-Bangladesh trade to remain suspended during Eid-al-Adha

Export and import activities between India and Bangladesh will remain suspended for several days on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha in the neighbouring country, an official said on Thursday.

An official of Integrated Check Post along Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) said that the export and import activities through this trade point would be closed from Friday and would reopen on June 9.

He said that the trade through the other checkposts including Tripura's Srimantapur, Belonia, Khowai, Kailashahar and Dharmanagar would close and reopen on different days as per the convenience of the traders.

The Agartala-Akhaura ICP, set up in 2013, located in the vicinity of the capital city of the state of Tripura that too within the Agartala Municipal Corporation area.

The ICP Agartala has the potential to be the gateway of India's corridor with South-East Asia and play a significant role in strengthening the India-Bangladesh relationship, the official said.

Another official said that export and import activities between India and Bangladesh through the Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh) ICP in West Bengal would remain suspended for ten days from Thursday on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha.

Trade operations will be closed from Thursday (June 5) and till June 14 in line with the Bangladesh government’s directives.

The President of the Benapole Port Import and Export Association said no loading and unloading of goods would take place during this period. However, immigration services at the Petrapole-Benapole land port would continue to operate as usual during this period, he said.

According to the official, Meghalaya's Dawki-Tamabil and Assam's Sutarkandi-Sheola trading points would also remain closed in view of the Eid-ul-Azha festivity, beginning from Saturday in Bangladesh.

To boost trade, tourism and other economic activities, the Central government has set up two Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along the border in Agartala-Akhaura in West Tripura district and Srimantapur in Sepahijala district.

The multi-purpose ICPs were also set up in Petrapole-Benapole along West Bengal and in Meghalaya's Dawki (India)-Tamabil (Bangladesh) and Assam's Sutarkandi (India)-Sheola (Bangladesh) trading points.

After the Petrapole-Benapole ICP in West Bengal, the Agartala-Akhaura ICP is the second largest trading point along the India-Bangladesh border in terms of value of annual trade.

Despite unprecedented unrest and violence in Bangladesh since last year, trade between West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and the neighbouring country has not stopped.

Four northeastern states -- Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) -- share a 1,880 km border with Bangladesh while West Bengal shares a 2,216 km border with the neighbouring country.

Bangladesh generally exports various fish, cement, food items, construction materials, steel sheets, PVC pipes, soft drinks, readymade garments, melamine and cotton waste to various northeastern states, while northeastern states export commodities such as broken stone, maize, agarbatti, fresh ginger, dry chillies, vegetable seeds, various spices and wood apple among others.