Kolkata: Bilateral trade at the Petrapole-Benapole land border port has come to a grinding halt for two days due to an agitation by Bangladeshi clearing and forwarding agents following cancellation of licence of two of them by the authorities concerned in the neighbouring country, officials said on Sunday. A meeting was held during the day to resolve the crisis but, "as per available information", no solution has been found, Petrapole Land Port manager Kamlesh Saini said.
Petrapole is in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district and Benapole lies on the other side of the international border. "There had been no movement of goods on Saturday and Sunday. It was lull on Friday due to a holiday in Bangladesh. There is an agitation going on at that country's border. We have requested the authorities there to at least clear the trucks carrying perishable items," Saini told the media.
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According to a source, Bangladesh Customs has cancelled the licenses of two C&F agents and filed a case against a member of the staff association. Several organisations such as Benapole C&F Agents Association, C&F Staff Association and Transport Owners Association of Benapole then started an agitation demanding revoking of the decisions. As a result, about 1,000 cargo trucks are stranded in the port areas of the two countries, affecting all customs and port activities, including import and export.
Sajedur Rahman, general secretary of the Benapole C&F Staff Association, alleged that customs had filed a harassment case against a C&F staff member without identifying the real culprits. If the case is not withdrawn, it has been decided to stop shipment of goods. Petrapole is the largest land port for trade between India and Bangladesh trading over Rs 20,000 crore of goods annually.
PTI
