Benapole, Hili ports bear the brunt of hartal

Shutdowns are derailing the transportation of goods through Benapole and Hili land ports and affecting the ports' revenue earnings badly.
Truck owners in Benapole port have incurred a loss of around Tk 13 crore in the 15 days of hartal since February 28, said Sirajul Islam, president of Benapole Truck and Tank Lorry Owners Association.
No driver wants to carry products during shutdowns for security fears, our correspondent reported from Jessore.
To transport a tonne of imported goods, traders in Benapole port now pay Tk 1,800 for Dhaka and Tk 2,600 for Chittagong, which were earlier Tk 1,200 and Tk 1,800 respectively, according to a clearing and forwarding agent of the port.
A huge quantity of goods got stored in the warehouses at Benapole port due to the strikes, said Abdul Awal, director of Benapole Land Port Authority. “Traders are loading trucks to transport goods even on Fridays and Saturdays, as we have stretched our storage capacity.”
Revenue earnings of Hili Land Port in Dinajpur dropped by around Tk 1.5 crore a day due to the strikes, said Humayun Akter, assistant commissioner of Hili customs.
Around 65 trucks now enter Bangladesh a day from India, down from 130 before the beginning of the shutdowns, traders at the Hili port told our correspondent in Dinajpur.
In absence of the most of the truckers, some agree to carry products but they charge too much, said Shafiqul Alam, a trader of Hili port.
Onion import is also bearing the brunt of the shutdowns in absence of the carriers of the perishable commodity, said Md Mobarak Hossain, an importer.
“We may have to suspend onion import, if the hartals continue.”
Obaidur Rahman, a wheat importer, said he has imported 200 tonnes of wheat, but failed to unload the shipment as he found no vehicle for transportation.
Another trader, Alamgir Hossain, said he hired a truck three days back to send maize to Dhaka from Hili at Tk 25,000, much higher than its regular rent of Tk 16,000 to Tk 17,000.
Political leaders should find an alternative to the hartals for the sake of the economy, said Md Abdul Kalam Azad, president of the C&F Agent Association of Hili Land Port.