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Benapole port back to life after 20 days

Rafiq Hasan, Benapole
The export and import activities through the country's largest land port Benapole resumed yesterday after remaining closed for 20 days due to a strike called by clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents.
The small port town started bustling with life again as businessmen, shop owners, traders and day labourers became busy following resumption of operation as the C&F agents withdrew the strike after fruitful discussions with the high officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Tuesday.
More than 150 trucks loaded with imported goods entered Bangladesh through the border and 30 trucks from Bangladesh side crossed the border with export items till yesterday noon, customs and land port sources said.
"We received the first Indian truck at 10:30am after complete closure for last 20 days," said Abu Hannan, the custom superintendent at the transshipment yard.
A seven-member delegation of Benapole C & F Agents Association that had enforced the strike visited the check posts of both the sides to observe the resumption of operation.
They also talked to the officials at Petrapole on the other side of the border and discussed about smooth operation of export and import business.
They also held a meeting with the port users for accelerating the operation and clearing the stranded trucks loaded with export and import goods.
Around 6,000 trucks had been stranded on both sides of the border due to the 20-day long shutdown, they said.
Following the resumption of operation yesterday, the Benapole customs house faced tremendous pressure and around 200 bills of entry were submitted for clearance of goods by afternoon.
Port officials hope export and import business as well as revenue collection will resume in full scale from today.
"We were in hardship as there was no income for the last 20 days. We had to spend days almost starving because we do not get payment when there is no work," said Abdul Latif, an elderly goods handling worker.
Many such workers, who work for very meagre amount of money for handling goods, went to their village home during the strike and they are now coming back, he said.
Meanwhile, the border became tense in the morning yesterday following assault of a Bangladeshi passenger by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) staff.
A BSF jawan mercilessly beat up Bangladeshi passport bearer Jamal Uddin for refusal to give Tk 200 as bribe, sources said, adding that Jamal ran to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) camp and lodged complain against BSF.
Called by the BDR Benapole post commander, the BSF Petrapole post commander Suresh came to the BDR post and officially apologised to BDR for the incident. Following BDR-BSF meeting, the situation became normal.