Bangladesh to shut down 3 land ports along India border

DHAKA: The Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt Thursday decided to shut down three land ports and suspend operations at another along the Bangladesh-India border, over 10 months after a committee found them "unprofitable" and "inactive" due to lack of infrastructure, and limited or no trade.

Chilahati Land Port in Nilphamari (Haldibari in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district), Daulatganj Land Port in Chuadanga (Majhdia in West Bengal's Nadia district), and Tegamukh Land Port in Rangamati (Demagri in Mizoram) are set for closure. Operations at Balla Land Port in Habiganj (Paharmura in Tripura's Khowai district) have been suspended.

The decision was approved in-principle at a meeting of the council of advisers, chaired by chief adviser Yunus. The move, the govt said, aims at reducing expenditure and ease financial burden on taxpayers.

"Politicians from border areas sometimes secured approval for these ports based on political considerations. But in reality, there has been little to no trade activity through them. This imposes unnecessary costs on the govt," Yunus' press secretary Shafiqul Alam said, hinting at sanctioning of these ports by Sheikh Hasina's govt.

On Nov 6 last year, the shipping ministry established the six-member committee comprising representatives from the ministries of shipping, finance, and road transport and bridges; National Board of Revenue (NBR); and Bangladesh Land Port Authority. The committee evaluated the operational status and economic viability of eight ports which also included Nakugaon, Gobrakura-Karaitali, Dhanua Kamalpur and Birol. On the operations at Balla Land Port, it had observed there was absence of infrastructure and road connectivity on the Indian side which made cross-border trade unfeasible.