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The reopening of Mogalhat, a decommissioned land port on the Bangladesh-India border in Lalmonirhat, has been stalled for a long time now even though resuming trade and immigration activities would be of great benefit to local businesspeople, according to officials.
The now defunct transit point is about 10 kilometres away from Lalmonirhat town while its distance from the Gitaldaha railway station in Dinhata city of Cooch Behar district in India is about three kilometres.
As such, the Mogalhat-Gitaldaha route once regularly carried both import-export goods as well as passengers, but communication was interrupted by severe floods that damaged a portion of the bridge over Dharla river in 1988.
And although immigration activities were still conducted until 2002, the port was eventually closed.
In August this year, the Lalmonirhat district administration sent a proposal to the commerce ministry urging it to reopen Mogalhat, which still has the required infrastructure to conduct operations.
As per the letter, a meeting of businesspeople from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan was held in Kolkata and Siliguri in India on July 15-17 in 2016. At the meeting, they highlighted the benefits of reopening customs and immigration facilities on the Mogalhat-Gitaldah route.
Resuming port operations on this route would expand Bangladesh’s trade with the Seven Sisters states of India as well as Nepal and Bhutan. Besides, local people would get employment opportunities as well.
“The government is optimistic about being able to reopen Mogalhat as a land customs station in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila would benefit businesspeople,” said Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs.
“So, the commerce ministry will take steps to communicate with Indian authorities in this regard,” he added.
Alam yesterday made these comments while attending the platinum jubilee of the Church of God Highschool in Lalmonirhat town.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had once said that Mogalhat would be reopened in 1996. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) then allowed all goods to be transported via Dharla river using Mogalhat as a land port, but traders showed no interest in the facility.
Similarly, the Road Transport and Highways Department had sent a letter to the shipping ministry and the NBR, asking them to conduct a feasibility study on reopening Mogalhat by February earlier this year but to no avail.
Likewise, a meeting of the Bangladesh-International Business Forum was held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka on the issue of reopening the land port and immigration checkpost on May 24, 2017.
Also, GM Quader, member of parliament from the Lalmonirhat sadar upazila constituency and Jatiya Party chairman, had written a letter to the Indian high commissioner in Bangladesh on June 3, 2017, to reopen Mogalhat in view of the demands of various business bodies.
Mohammad Ullah, deputy commissioner of Lalmonirhat, said there is every possibility to reopen the customs station.
“We have verified the possibility and given a letter to the commerce ministry on August 19, but we have not received any response as of yet,” he said.
“If the damaged bridge over Dharla river is repaired, commercial activities could resume. However, the immigration checkpost can be opened at any time,” Ullah added.
Kamruzzaman Sujon, chairman of the Lalmonirhat sadar upazila parishad, said the area was always busy when Mogalhat was operational.
“Thousands of people were employed. So, reopening Mogalhat will bring economic prosperity here,” he added.
Sheikh Abdul Hamid Babu, president of the Lalmonirhat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Mogalhat-Gitaldah is an easy route to connect India’s Cooch Behar, Assam, Alipur Duar, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Nepal and Bhutan with Bangladesh.
“If this route is reopened, goods can be imported from India and Bhutan at low cost. It will greatly expand international trade with Bangladesh,” he added.
Babu went on to say that they have held several meetings and posted numerous letters to the government to this end.
“But we only get promises as no effective initiatives have been taken by the government as of yet,” he said.
(TDS)
