FENI, May 23: Belonia land port has been plagued by problems, especially for poor infrastructure, absence of banking facility and lack of coordination.
It has been eight years since the inauguration of the land port, but no infrastructure facilities are developed yet here. Now the land port only exists on papers. In fact, its functioning is virtually closed, according to field sources.
The commencement of the land port was supposed to greatly benefit Bangladeshi exporters and importers, but it rather put them in disarray down to lack of infrastructure, the sources said.
On October 4, 2009, Belonia LC (Land Customs) Station was upgraded to a full-fledged land port. This is the 14th land port, of which 13 are with India. The other side of Belonia is Muhurighat in Tripura state of India. The land port was inaugurated with a view to opening a new avenue for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs for exporting more commodities to the north-eastern region of India, sources informed.
First two years Bangladesh exported cement, bricks, processed food, agro-based products, fish and fish products, ceramic products, stone chips, toiletries, cosmetics, plastic goods to India. Now only cement, stone chips and quite a few corrugated iron sheets are exported to the neighbouring country, sources added.
But no Indian products are imported through the land port. Every month some 300-400 passengers use the port to visit the neighbouring countries.
Businessman Md Anwar Hossain said Belonia remains the same LC, although it was upgraded to land port as there are no such facilities that a full-fledged land port possesses.
There is no banking facility here for revenue collection of the land port. There is a nominal office for the officials and employees of customs, but no dormitory, sources said.
Various facilities, including hotel-restaurant, lavatory, warehouse and truck yard are yet to be built here. The railway has been lying unused for the last 18 years.
General Secretary of Export-Import Samity Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said there are no proper eatery and boarding house for truck drivers and helpers who come from far-flung of the country. That is why; they have to sleep inside their vehicles even for three days, if Indian trucks come late.
Revenue Officer of Belonia Land Port Fazlul Haque Bhuiya said Tk 44.73 crore goods were exported to India for the fiscal year 2015-2016.
The main road for transportation of goods is now in a dilapidated state with numerous potholes. As result, vehicular movement through the road is a tough job, and with only a little rain it becomes almost unusable. During the rainy season, the export activities come to a halt, he also said.
It is very necessary to set up a Sonali Bank booth here, he added.
