Imports and exports through Benapole land port in Jessore will remain suspended for five days on the occasion of the Sharadiya Durga Puja celebrated by the Sanatan religious community.
During this time, cargo handling, unloading, and clearance at Benapole port will continue as usual, along with cross-border travel of passport holders between Bangladesh and India, said Benapole Checkpost Immigration Officer-in-Charge (OC) Elias Hossain Munshi.
Kartik Chakraborty, general secretary of India’s Petrapole Port Clearing Agent Staff Welfare Association, said: “Due to Puja, all import-export trade between Petrapole port and Benapole port will remain suspended from Sunday to Thursday. From Saturday morning, import-export trade through the port will resume as usual.”
Sajedur Rahman, general secretary of the Benapole C&F Staff Association, said: “We were informed of the five-day suspension of trade through an official letter from the Indian C&F side.”
He added that due to the five-day holiday for Durga Puja in India, hundreds of trucks carrying goods would be stuck at Petrapole port, most of which carry raw materials for Bangladesh’s 100% export-oriented garment industry.
OC Elias Hossain Munshi of Benapole International Checkpost Immigration Police reiterated: “Although goods transport will be halted during the holidays, passport-holding passengers will be able to travel as usual.”
Shamim Hossain Reza, director (Traffic) of Benapole land port, said: “Our government holidays fall on October 1 and 2. However, according to an official notice, the unloading process and customs operations inside Benapole port will continue tomorrow (Sunday), Monday, and Tuesday. During this period, goods can be unloaded at the port and empty Indian trucks can return to India.”