Strike in India halts trade thru' border

Bilateral trade through land ports, including Hili and Benapole, came to a halt yesterday due to an opposition-led strike in India over fuel price rise.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the leftist bloc called the 12-hour strike, shutting down parts of India.
Hili port in Dinajpur was doubly affected by the Indian strike as it remained closed for the previous two days due to labour unrest in Bangladesh.
Protests by workers of Panama Port Link Ltd, a private port operator, had disrupted trade through Hili port. Law enforcers were deployed in the port area to help resume trade. But the Indian strike halted port activities again for another day, resulting in a loss of Tk 1 crore a day, a port official said.
Md Ferdous Rahman, president of Hili C&F Agents Association, said no vehicles transported goods through the port.
Aminul Islam, Benapole port director (traffic), said trade through the land port was halted due to the Indian strike. Hundreds of trucks laden with goods lined up in the port area.
He however said loading, unloading and release of already imported goods continued normally.
In India, businesses were largely shut.