After adding Ashuganj as the new transshipment point between Bangladesh and India, Bangladesh has eventually allowed multi-module transit to India.
Officially the transit is set to start this month after the May 31 amendment of a protocol, but its actual implementation may be delayed until the road infrastructure on the border is improved, officials here said.
As per the new arrangement, India can now carry its goods not only by waterway but also by road from one part of its territory to the other via Bangladesh territory.
On May 31, the two countries amended the 'Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT)' and added Ashuganj as the fifth port of call in Bangladesh, while in a reciprocal gesture, India declared Shilghat as a port of call for Bangladesh goods on the Indian side. The PIWTT amendment allowed India to carry goods to Ashuganj port by ferry and from there they would be taken to the north-eastern India by land.
"Bangladesh truck and tractor-trailors may carry cargoes transshipped from river craft at Sherpur and Ashuganj to the Indian border," the amendment says.
"It is actually not new as Bangladesh had allowed transit to India long before through Sherpur point but it was not useable as the river was not navigable," said a shipping ministry official adding that "India will use the same route, but along with Sherpur now they can use Ashuganj port too."
A top foreign ministry official also confirmed that there was no need to sign a new agreement between the two countries for transit using Ashuganj-Akhaura route after inserting just one word-Ashuganj-in the PIWTT through the said amendment.
According to the amended PIWTT, the new route would be Kolkata-Holdiya-Raimongal-Mongla-Kaukhali-Barisal-Hizla-Chandpur-Narayangang-Boirabbazar- Ashuganj. From Ashuganj, goods would be carried by Bangladesh trucks and tractor-trailors to the Akhaura-Agartala border.
Since the 1980s, India had been seeking permission to tilise Ashuganj as a transshipment point because it is only 49 km off the Tripura border. Also, this river port is navigable throughout the year.
Now Indian goods can be easily transshipped from West Bengal to the isolated Seven Sisters region through Bangladesh. Bangladesh had drawn up a Tk 2.5-billion project to develop Ashuganj port with modern facilities to handle heavy Indian cargo because it expected huge revenue. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority said preparations were also underway to renovate the 49-km road stretch from the port to the Tripura border.
On the other hand, by a statutory regulatory order (SRO) on June 10, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) had set fees for transshipment and transit of goods from neighbouring countries. It has been placed before the parliament to make it applicable from July 1.
According to the NBR proposal, the fees would be Tk 10,000 per TEU container if the cargo is transported by road or rail in such containers and Tk 1,000 per tonne if transported by covered vans or trucks or in bulk by non-container ships and trains.
However, the NBR decision to set fees for transshipment and transit of goods created lots of questions because to date, there is no study regarding benefits of allowing transit and transshipment to India. "After all, the fee for one tonne gold and iron cannot be same," said a top government official who did not want to be named.
However, in a delayed move, the Bangladesh government has sought assistance from the Asian Development Bank to conduct a study on the economic benefits of providing transit facility to India. Sources said that the ADB was preparing a report after receiving a request from the Tariff Commission and they may handover it to the Commission in the next two months.
NBR officials said that the fees are fixed in advance to expedite the service. The NBR circular also says that controlled items like arms and ammunition, alcoholic drinks and narcotics, endangered species of plants and animals, and other commodities with a ban on their import will not be allowed for transshipment or transit.
The SRO also specifies, Officers of Bangladesh customs must know, and will have the authority to check what goods are being transshipped or in transit.
Earlier in September last year when Bangladesh foreign minister Dr. Dipu Moni visited India, Bangladesh agreed to transportation of some heavy consignments of power generation equipment to Tripura. India will send the ODCs (Over Dimensional Cargo) from Kolkata port to Ashuganj by water way and from there to Pallatana in Tripura state through Ashuganj-Akhaura road for setting up a 726 MW power plant.
The Independent/22-6-2010
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