Bangla for more imports into India

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 28: Shaikh Qamrul Hasan, first secretary (commercial), Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata today urged the Indian exporters in Malda to increase import of competitive products from Bangladesh. He today visited Mahedipur land customs station in English Bazaar and interacted with Indian customs officials and local exporters. “I have been asked by our Bangladesh government to assess the land port station in West Bengal and progress of infrastructure development for the promotion of trade between the two countries,” he told reporters. He also said: “Bangladesh had been able to increase export globally. The country exports nearly 80 products in India. It has been able to increase export from $89 million to $310 million in last financial year after 36 years of independence”. “We want to increase export items like garments, food products and others including Hilsa,” he said. Speaking to the reporters here Shaikh Qamrul Hasan said: “The Mahedipur land customs station is lagging behind and progress of its infrastructure development is very slow. There is no warehouse, truck terminal and other facilities for importers and exporters. Even the condition of a fourteen km road to land customs station connecting national highway is very bad”. “Besides Petra-pole and some ports in northeast India, the infrastructure of the lands customs stations in West Bengal is not up to the mark,” he said. He has stressed the need to maintain peace along the border for smooth export and import between the two countries and said: “Higher authorities always were trying to resolve dispute between border security forces of two countries which sometimes hampered border trade following exchange of fire between the Border Security Forces (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)”. “I do not know about proposal for legal trade of cattle from higher officials of BDR to Indian official, at a coordination meeting between the two countries held in Kolkata from 21-24 July, to resolve unrest along the border on the issue of cattle smuggling”, he told The Statesman. He assured the members of Malda Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce that he would look into the matter of non payment problem from Bangladesh. The MMCC today submitted a memorandum to Shaikh Qamrul Hasan and alleged that Indian exporters had been harassed by some importers in Bangladesh and they failed to realize payment. Admitting the problem of ‘uncertainty of payment’ he said : We always discuss about the matters in the joint customs officials level meetings and other high level meetings between the two counties to maintain congenial atmosphere for the development of trade between the two countries”.