Despite having been resumed only 15 days ago, import of coal from India through the Tamabil port in Sylhet was halted again on Wednesday morning after an Indian court imposed a ban on lifting coal.
If the situation persists, some 4,000-5,000 workers in Sylhet face unemployment, while importers face losses due to a losing business, reports UNB.
Tamabil Coal Importers Association Joint Secretary Elias Uddin Lipu said: “Traders have loaned more than Tk200 crore from banks with increasing interests, in the last 15 days in order to import coal from India.”
Coal worker Abdur Rahim said: “We are facing difficulties in our daily lives with our children and family as import suspension has put us out of jobs.”
Tamabil tax station Superintendent Nurul Islam said the Indian traders stopped exporting coal from Wednesday morning without any notification.
The exchequer will also lose almost Tk1 crore in daily revenue due to the suspension, Nurul Islam added.
“The most frustrating thing of all must surely be that there is seemingly nothing any of the stakeholders on this side of the border can do to change the situation, as the Indian court system has made the matter sub judice,” he said.
