Bangladesh unrest: Trades with N-E states not fully closed, but reduced sharply

Despite unprecedented unrest and violence in Bangladesh, trade between Tripura and the neighbouring country has not fully stopped but largely decreased since Monday when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India as the Army took control of the administration.

Similar situations exist in Dawki (Meghalaya)-Tamabil (Bangladesh) and Sutarkandi (Assam)-Sheola (Bangladesh) trading points.

Four northeastern states -- Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) -- share a 1,880 km border with Bangladesh.

A senior official said that very few goods-laden trucks ferried various items between Tripura and Bangladesh through the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Srimantapur (India)-Bibir Bazar (Bangladesh) trading points. On a normal day on average, 300-400 goods-laden trucks pass through these trading points, he added.

Officials and traders are hopeful that normal trade between the two countries will resume soon with the normalisation of the situation.

“It is mainly the government and traders of the neighbouring country who are benefited due to the trade between Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India. So it is expected that the traders there will put pressure on the concerned stakeholders to normalise the import-export business,” Tapan Biswas, an exporter in Agartala, told IANS.

An official of the Tripura government’s Industry and Commerce Department said that the trade between Tripura and Bangladesh has increased substantially from Rs 230.24 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 715.98 crore in 2023-24.

During the financial year 2023-24, the value of exports from Tripura to Bangladesh was Rs 12.31 crore while the import was at Rs 703.67.

To boost trade, tourism and other economic activities, the Indian government has set up two Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along the border in Akhaura (in West Tripura district) and Srimantapur in Sepahijala district. Besides these ICPs, four Land Custom Stations are operational in Tripura to facilitate trade between the two countries.

The multi-purpose ICPs were also set up in Meghalaya's Dawki-Tamabil and Assam's Sutarkandi-Sheola trading points.

After the Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh) ICP in West Bengal, the Agartala-Akhaura ICP is the second largest trading point along the India-Bangladesh border in terms of value of annual trade.

Bangladesh exports various fish, cement, food items, steel sheets, PVC pipes, soft drinks, and cotton waste to Tripura and other northeastern states while it imports commodities such as broken stone, maize, agarbatti, fresh ginger, dry chillies, vegetable seeds, and wood apple among others from the region.

An official in Agartala-Akhaura ICP said that those Bangladesh nationals stranded in the northeastern states are going back to their country while some Indians, stranded there, are also returning. "However, we are discouraging Indians not to visit Bangladesh at the moment as violence continues in most of the districts of that country," he added.

Officials of Bangladesh Assistant High Commissions in Guwahati and Agartala have said that they are unable to issue any visa for Bangladesh-bound people as the process is done online and their servers are not yet connected.

Normally on a daily basis, several thousand people legally move from the northeastern states to Bangladesh and vice versa.

Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Tuesday that all concerned officials are closely monitoring the situation along the border and no untoward incident has been reported so far.

"I am keeping in touch with Delhi (Centre). We will act accordingly as per the instructions from Delhi..." he said.

"I have asked the BSF and other concerned officials not to allow anyone from Bangladesh to enter Tripura," Saha added.

The Chief Minister said that instructions were also given to the Border Security Force (BSF), Assam Rifles, Tripura police, Customs, state and central intelligence to work in coordination.

Amidst the volatile situation and violence in Bangladesh, a high alert has been issued in areas bordering the neighbouring country.

A top-ranking BSF officer in Agartala said that all senior officials and commandants have been camping at borders since Monday, and have been maintaining the highest vigilance along the frontiers.

"Our troops are on high alert along the border with Bangladesh. We have almost sealed the border," the official, unwilling to be named, told IANS.

He also said that in the backdrop of the chaos and unrest in Bangladesh, no untoward incident or infiltration bid so far has happened along the India-Bangladesh border areas.