Will India-Bangladesh Trade Be Suspended During Eid-al-Adha?

Agartala/Kolkata, June 5 (NationPress) Trade activities between India and Bangladesh will be put on hold for several days due to the celebration of Eid-al-Adha in Bangladesh, according to an official announcement made on Thursday.

An official at the Integrated Check Post along the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) border specified that trade operations will cease starting Friday and are slated to resume on June 9.

Additionally, operations at other checkposts including Tripura's Srimantapur, Belonia, Khowai, Kailashahar, and Dharmanagar will also halt, reopening on varying dates according to traders' needs.

Established in 2013, the Agartala-Akhaura ICP is situated near the capital city of Tripura, within the Agartala Municipal Corporation area.

This ICP has significant potential as a gateway for India’s corridor with South-East Asia and is expected to enhance India-Bangladesh relations, as noted by the official.

Another official mentioned that trade activities through the Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh) ICP in West Bengal will also be on hold for ten days starting Thursday, in line with the Bangladesh government's instructions.

Trade operations will be suspended from June 5 until June 14. The President of the Benapole Port Import and Export Association confirmed that no loading or unloading of goods would occur during this period. However, immigration services at the Petrapole-Benapole land port will continue as usual.

Furthermore, trading points at Meghalaya's Dawki-Tamabil and Assam's Sutarkandi-Sheola will be closed in observance of the Eid-ul-Azha festivities commencing Saturday in Bangladesh.

To bolster trade, tourism, and other economic activities, the Central government has initiated two Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along the border in Agartala-Akhaura in West Tripura district and Srimantapur in Sepahijala district.

Additional multi-purpose ICPs have been established at Petrapole-Benapole in West Bengal, as well as Meghalaya's Dawki (India)-Tamabil (Bangladesh) and Assam's Sutarkandi (India)-Sheola (Bangladesh).

After the Petrapole-Benapole ICP in West Bengal, the Agartala-Akhaura ICP ranks as the second largest trading point along the India-Bangladesh border based on the annual trade value.

Despite significant unrest and violence in Bangladesh since the previous year, trade between West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, and the neighboring country has persisted. The four northeastern states—Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km), and Assam (263 km)—share a 1,880 km border with Bangladesh, while West Bengal shares a 2,216 km border.

Bangladesh typically exports a variety of goods including fish, cement, food products, construction materials, steel sheets, PVC pipes, soft drinks, ready-made garments, melamine, and cotton waste to various northeastern states. In return, northeastern states export items such as broken stone, maize, agarbatti, fresh ginger, dry chilies, vegetable seeds, various spices, and wood apple, among others.