Trade with Bangladesh Suspended; BSF on ‘High Alert’ at Border

Trade with Bangladesh Suspended; BSF on ‘High Alert’ at Border

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

• Suspension of Trade:
  • Amidst ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, trade between India and Bangladesh remains suspended.
• BSF on High Alert:
  • Director-General Visit: Director-General of the Border Security Force (BSF), along with senior officials, visited the integrated checkpoint at Petrapole and the border outpost Ranaghat in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district.
  • Objective: The visit aimed to assess the tactical and operational preparedness and deployment strategies of the BSF at these key locations.
• BSF’s Announcement:
  • High Alert: The border guarding forces have declared a “high alert” along the border.
  • Discussions: BSF officials discussed strategies to combat illegal infiltration and smuggling and held coordination meetings with West Bengal government officials and border village residents.
• Impact on Trade:
  • Affected Ports: Trade has been affected not only at Petrapole but also at land custom stations in Ghojadanga, Mahadipur, and Fulbari in West Bengal.
  • Passenger Movement: There has been some passenger movement, particularly along the integrated checkpoint (ICP), including people returning to India and crossing over to Bangladesh.
• Challenges Faced by Traders:
  • Non-Clearance of Goods: Experts highlighted that trade through land ports has been disrupted due to the non-clearance of goods.
  • Stationed Trucks: Hundreds of trucks are stationed in parking lots due to the irregular trade since the protests began.
  • Engineering Exporters: Expressed significant concern for Indian engineering exporters. Stability in Bangladesh is crucial for maintaining and expanding trade relations, as Bangladesh is a top destination for Indian engineering products and India’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
• Impact on Rail Connectivity:
  • Agartala-Akhaura Link: The turmoil in Bangladesh has affected the inter-country rail connectivity along the crucial Agartala-Akhaura link, which connects Tripura to Kolkata, cutting across Bangladesh.
  • Project Delays: Talks for the long-pending link were revived earlier this year, but the current situation has delayed the project.
  • Indian Railways Update: Of the 12.24-km dual-gauge line, 5.46 km from Agartala to Nischintapur (leading to the Bangladesh border entering Akhaura) has been completed. The remaining 6.78 km on the Bangladeshi side is delayed due to the turmoil.

Agartala – Akhaura Rail Link

• Significance of the Rail Link:
  • First Train Connection: The rail line between Agartala in Tripura and Akhaura in Bangladesh will enable the first train service from the north-eastern region to Bangladesh.
• Route:

1. Gangasagar to Nischintapur: The railway link will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to Nischintapur in India.
2. Nischintapur to Agartala: From Nischintapur, the rail line will extend to Agartala railway station in India.

• Funding and Construction:
• Indian Side:
  • Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER): Responsible for bearing the cost of laying the 5.46 km track on the Indian side.
• Bangladesh Side:
  • Ministry of External Affairs: Bearing the cost of laying the 10.6 km track on the Bangladesh side.