Nakugaon Land Port at Nalitabari turns vibrant

NALITABARI, SHERPUR, June 15: The Nakugaon Land Port in Nalitabari Upazila of the district has turned a daily workplace for thousands of labourers after its full-fledged infrastructure development.

Everyday the port turns vibrant in the morning with crowding labourers. The port is located at Nayabil Union along border with India. The port is showing new horizon of trade expansion to importers and exporters.    
   
Local and traders from different parts of the country are coming to the port and are doing good businesses. They are economically benefitting.  Port labourer leaders said, thousands of labourers have got works at the port.

With changing scenario, the port has become a tri-nation land port of Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan with bright business potential.

A total of 19 products are being imported through this port, including cattle, fry, fresh fruits, different species of trees, seeds, wheat, stone, coal, chemical fertiliser, China clay, wood, timber, lime stone, onion, garlic, ginger, ball clay, and quartz. Three more items have been newly included. These are betel nut, dry fish, and flyers.
       
Traders said, after closing for 33 years, the port with immigration check-post was reopened as customs station in 1998.

Since then import-export of coal, stone, cement, Saree, juice, mosquito cloths, jute goods and other legal items began through the port. But due to narrow road and lack of developed infrastructure, the commercial potential of the port started to decrease.
 
Jatiya Sangsad Deputy Speaker Begum Matia Chowdhury, MP, built this port into a full-fledged port.

Then Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, MP, inspected the port and declared it as the full-fledged land port on December 12, 2009. Later on, the port infrastructure was raised on about 14 decimal lands at a cost of Tk 16.19 crore.
 
Besides, a 29.5 kilometre road ranging from Nakugaon to Nokla was developed at Tk 239 crore under the Roads & Highways Department. The port started its activities under its management since June 19, 2015.

Sujan Mia, general secretary (GS) of Nakugaon Land Port Labourer Union, said, the port has now turned a symbol of lot for traders and labourers; earlier coal would come from India through this port; Now coal is banned, and only stone is imported. "We are happy to get work here," he added.

He further said, there are 800 union-based registered labourers at the port; besides, 3,000 more labourers working at stone crushing site on daily wage basis; about 300 ones are working in machine operations; union-based load-unload labourers get Tk 600-700 per day while others Tk 400-500.   
 
Labourer Aynal Haq said, "We have got works easily at the port. If the port is not opened, we will have to go to Dhaka and other areas for works."

Arun Chandra Sarkar, GS of Nakugaon Land Port Import-Export Association, said, with opening of the port, locals and traders from different areas of the country are benefitting economically. Thousands of labourers are running their families working at the port.  

Revenue Officer of the Nakugaon Land Port Shahidul Islam said, import-export of 22 products including three newly approved items can be imported through this port. "We are assisting traders to increase government revenue," he added.