Clash in Myanmar takes toll on Teknaf land port
Bangladesh incurred a loss of around Tk 3 crore in the last eight days as trade with Myanmar through Teknaf land port remained suspended due to sectarian clash in the neighbouring Maungdaw since June 8.
There was no transportation of cargo boats with imported goods from or to Myanmar since June 9, said Abdul Mohaimen, general manager of United Land Port Teknaf Ltd that operates the port of six jetties.
Workers handled around 250 tonnes of goods a day in the period, down from usual 500 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes a day.
The port delivered 25 trucks of imported goods on Thursday, down from its regular amount of 50 trucks a day, according to the port officials.
Bangladeshi traders import goods like timbers, fishes, tamarind, spices through the port from Myanmar, while they export cement, plastic and aluminum utensils, tube well and human hair.
The halt is also hurting the people of different localities in the border upazilas who are engaged in cross border trade of some items like crab, fishes and fruits through Naf river at different other points.
Five local importers imported around 450 tonnes of goods, including pulse, dry fish, pickles and bean, with two cargo boats on Friday but the boats fled the port to Myanmar on Sunday as some of its Rakhine labourers sensed insecurity here.
A top official of the port said the two boats will come back after the situation becomes normal.
Abul Hashem, one of the five importers, expressed his anxiety about the fate of the consignment and said he may incur huge losses due to his failure to supply the consignment to clients in time. Hashem said he could have gone for more consignments in this period if the situation was normal.
However, Jamil Akter, an officer of the consulate of Bangladesh in Sittwe, said boats transportation may become normal from Monday.
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