Shawdesh Desk:

Export and import activities through Benapole land port resumed on Sunday, after a three-day disruption in the wake of a strike enforced by Bangladeshi traders.

The trading organisations at the land port on Wednesday morning stopped the import of Indian goods protesting against the refusal of Bangladeshi export items on the Indian side, which led to a complete standstill there.

Later, customs officials, port authorities and trading organisations of both countries came to a reconciliation through a fruitful meeting on Sunday noon.

As a result, five trucks carrying Indian goods entered the country while five Bangladeshi trucks with export items entered India in the evening.

Shahidul Islam, joint commissioner of Benapole Customs, said import-export trade between the two countries resumed in the afternoon as India agreed to accept Bangladeshi exports.

Nuruzzaman, senior vice-president of Benapole C&F Agents Association, also confirmed the development.

Import trade worth Tk 30,000 crore is annually being done through the land port when the export trade worths only Tk 2,000 crore, he said.

At the very beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh, the authorities completely shut export-import activities at the port in late March as precaution that lasted for around three months.

On June 7, Bangladeshi traders started importing commodities from India but the Indian traders refused exports from the opposite side.

Abdul Jalil, deputy director of the land port, said authorities of both countries held a fruitful meeting around 2pm and agreed to restore export-import activities.