Govt depriving of revenues

Emran Hossain, Jamalpur:

Stone imports have been stopped at Dhanua Kamalpur land port in Jamalpur for the last three months causing increasing concern and unemployment in the area.

Besides, the government is being deprived of a huge amount of revenue due to the closure of this land port for a long time. Similarly, thousands of workers associated with the port have become unemployed. Traders claim that, they have been forced to stop importing stones due to customs complications and continuous losses.

This station, located near the Meghalaya border with India, started its journey in 1974. Later, it was converted into a full-fledged land port in 2015. The government has already built a huge infrastructure at a cost of about Tk 60 crore for modernization and immigration. However, despite having all the facilities, the port area is currently suffering from a shortage of stones.

The Importers and Exporters Association said that, importers are facing extreme financial losses due to the dilapidated roads on the Indian side and the imposition of additional charges on stones. Traders are facing discrimination because the facilities of other land ports in the country are not available here.

It was learned from a visit to the port that about 8,000 stone quarry and truck workers dependent on this port are now living in extreme hardship. Due to long days of continuous absence from work, their families are living in hunger and semi-starvation. The unemployed workers are losing their breath due to the cost of their children’s education and the pressure of installments from various NGOs. Thousands of hard-working helpless workers have demanded that this port be opened as soon as possible.

Port Revenue Officer Pritimoy Kanti Barua said that, imports have slowed down due to road renovation work on the Indian side and some incidents of internal unrest. However, the port authorities are regularly encouraging traders to start importing. We hope that this problem will be resolved as soon as possible and stone imports will resume.

It is very urgent to end the customs-related complications to restore the mobility and activity of the traditional land port of Dhanua Kamalpur. Local conscious people have sought the immediate intervention of the concerned authorities to ensure food security for thousands of unemployed workers and normalize the government’s revenue. If business security and proper supervision by the authorities are ensured, this land port will once again become the heart of the economy.