Using Bangladesh’s ports as transshipment hubs, India is looking at new ways to move merchandise to its North-Eastern States. There are attempts to move cargo from Bangladesh to Indian ports, mainly Kolkata, where it will eventually be exported to outside markets. The Bangladeshi ports of Mongla and Chattogram (Chittagong) are considered potential transportation hubs. This implies that commodities will be transported by sea from the Kolkata port (Syama Prasad Mookerjee port) to these two ports, and then by land to the Indian States of Assam (the lower Assam area), Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.
The relocation is anticipated to cut expenditures and travel time by approximately one-fifth. According to transporters, it takes at least 9 to 12 days to go to the North-Eastern States via the Siliguri Corridor, popularly known as the “Chicken’s Neck” region. This time also accounts for 10 to 15% of the items’ damage due to poor road conditions. According to sources in the Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Ministry, four more such trans-shipments from Mongla to Tamabil, Tamabil to Chittagong, Chittagong to Sheola, and Mongla to Bibirbazar (all in Bangladesh) is currently being carried out after a trial run was conducted for them before the pandemic.
As ships were returning empty, it became difficult to obtain back cargo from Bangladesh or the Northeast. Discussions have also been started to import Bangladeshi cargo to Kolkata and subsequently export it from here, according to Vinit Kumar, Chairman of the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust. By the end of September, the MEA should get a final assessment from the Kolkata port authorities regarding the viability of the routes, including recommendations for customs-related systems and software modifications. The neighboring nation will then be contacted to follow up on this. “These are duty-free items traveling between locations in India via Bangladesh. Therefore, both in India and Bangladesh, there must be certain modifications made to the customs program. Once the route feasibility report is received, all of them will be examined, an official stated. If awarded approvals, it would be close to another two years before the routes were built.
