The port handled 256 truckloads of imports and 45 truckloads of exports today as customs and port activities returned to normal and accumulated cargo began moving.
TBS Report
25 October, 2026, 06:25 pm
Last modified: 25 October, 2026, 06:28 pm
Import and export activities between Bangladesh's Benapole land port and India's Petrapole port resumed in full today (25 October) after an eight-day suspension for Durga Puja and weekly holidays, bringing activity back to the busy border crossing.
Romen Mitra, revenue officer at the cargo section of Benapole Customs House, said the port handled 256 truckloads of imported goods and 45 truckloads of exports today.
Trade through the route remained suspended from 17 to 24 October due to government holidays for Durga Puja and weekly holidays. Passenger movement between the two countries continued as usual during the period.
Although import-export trade was suspended, cargo handling, unloading and customs assessment continued at Benapole port on 18 and 19 October. Indian trucks also returned to their country after unloading goods at the port.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) had instructed authorities to keep import-export-related activities running on a limited scale. Trade between Benapole and Petrapole resumed briefly yesterday (24 October), but operations were halted due to server problems.
After consultations with senior authorities, officials decided to allow the manual import of some perishable goods. On Saturday, only 62 truckloads of goods entered Bangladesh from India, while 36 truckloads were exported to India.
Badruzzaman Bony, general secretary of the Benapole Customs Clearing and Forwarding Staff Association, said import-export activities resumed on Sunday morning, with port and customs operations returning to full capacity after the weekly holiday.
The holiday period had created a backlog of cargo on both sides of the border, but the resumption of trade has begun easing congestion, he said. Around 2,000 handling workers returned to work to load and unload goods, while traders, clearing and forwarding agents, and port and customs officials were busy clearing accumulated cargo.
Ruhul Amin, acting director (traffic) of Benapole Land Port, said the server problems had prevented trade from progressing on Saturday. Full import-export operations and other port and customs activities resumed today, he added.
He said the authorities had instructed the relevant officials to ensure that traders could clear imported goods from the port quickly.