Trade resumes along India-Bangla border

Goods trade has resumed at Mehedipur, a land port in West Bengal's Malda district bordering Bangladesh, after remaining suspended since Thursday due to violence in the neighbouring country.
"The bilateral trade between the two countries has resumed with near normal movement of goods vehicles on the international border following improvement in the situation," Chairman of the sub-committee of Calcutta Customs House Agents' Association Raju Goswami said today.
"There is near normal situation in the movement of goods vehicles from India to Bangladesh which usually sees 250-300 trucks carrying goods into Bangladesh through the Mehedipur border point," he said.
He said that goods vehicles could proceed up to Benapole in Bangladesh but not beyond.

Trading through Petrapole on the Indian side, which accounts for one-third of the bilateral trade of around USD five billion annually, was unaffected, Goswami said.
A Malda report said that all 172 Indian drivers and helpers of trucks stranded at Chapainawabganj district of Bangladesh had safely returned to India due to coordination by the BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh.
"There was near normal movement of people with valid travel documents to and from India through the Malda border point," the report said, quoting the police.
The police said the BSF has stepped up patrol on the 172 km international border and there was no influx from Bangladesh.