Imports of railway goods are increasing at Benapole port

Imports of railway goods are increasing at Benapole port Imports of goods are increasing at Benapole-Petrapole railway station in Jessore. In the fiscal year 2020-21, 5 lakh 40 thousand 859 metric tons of imported goods have been imported from India by rail in Benapole. At this time the revenue of the government has been collected from the railway fare of 31 crores 40 lakh 69 thousand 830 taka which is increasing.It has been seen that in the previous fiscal year 2019-20, one lakh 74 thousand 73.9 metric tons of goods were imported from India through this route, from which the revenue of the government was collected. Md. Saiduzzaman, Benapole Railway Stationmaster of Yasher, said that at present a lot of goods are being imported from India by rail through Benapole port.

It has been reported that there is a problem in keeping the goods as there is no railway yard in the port. Authorities have already started the construction of two railway yards at the port. Besides, expansion work of broad gauge line from Benapole to Petrapole is in progress. It is hoped that the scope of trade will increase further after the completion of these works. Earlier, stone and gypsum products were imported by rail, but now many types of products including garments, chemicals, and food products are being imported regularly. On July 24, the Indian Railways' special train 'Oxygen Express' brought 200 metric tons of liquid medical oxygen from India in 10 containers.

Md Mizanur Rahman Khan, former president of the Jessore Chamber of Commerce, said Bangladeshi traders had been taken hostage by the Benapole-Petropol port and the Petrapol Kalitala Truck Parking Syndicate in India for doing business by land. The syndicate used to collect Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 per truck in the name of serial. He added that the syndicate's atrocities escalated in March last year. As a result, the import cost of the port continues to increase in the country's market. And when the business leaders of the two countries informed the higher authorities about the matter, the government allowed the import and trade of all kinds of goods by rail from June 4 last year and since then the import has been increasing.