Irregularities at Petrapole parking hampers Benapole trade
About 6,000 Benapole-bound goods carrying trucks were found stranded at Kalitala parking in Indian Petrapole Port today thanks to the mismanagement and irregularities by the parking authorities, which has slowed release of vehicles from the area.
Port users claimed that the trucks are made to wait for 30-35 days in the name of serial at the truck parking place in the Indian part of Bangaon area.
A syndicate at the parking made the undue delay of the trucks to grab extra money as the parking authorities charge 2,000 rupees a day, they said.
Earlier, 600 to 700 trucks of goods were imported from India through this port daily but right now only 200 to 300 trucks can enter Bangladesh because of the undue delay, port officials said.
Matiar Rahman, director of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a strong syndicate is behind the mismanagement and irregularities at Petrapole port.
"A toll of 2,000 rupees per day is being collected from each truck loaded with goods. It takes 30 to 35 days for a truck to enter the country. Importers have to pay the subscription money. As a result, they are incurring financial losses," he said.
"The extortion at the parking will be stopped once the serial activities are managed under the supervision of Petrapole Port," said Kartik Chandra, general secretary of the Petrapole C&F Agents Staff Welfare Association in India.
Raw materials for industrial establishments and garments are imported through this port. Delays in importing the goods are leaving a negative impact on these industries, port users said.
Benapole Customs House Commissioner Md Azizur Rahman further said they have held several meetings with the authorities of Indian customs and port, but no improvement has seen yet.
Every year, trades worth Tk 30,000 crore take place through the port and Benapole Customs House earns Tk 10,000 crore in revenue, port officials said.
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