Indo-Bangladesh Trade Stalls Amid Bangladesh Unrest

Trade between India and Bangladesh came to a halt following large-scale protests in Bangladesh, leading to the resignation of President Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh government declared a three-day trade holiday excluding essential services, resulting in stalled export-import activities at land ports without clearance from Bangladeshi customs.

Trade between India and Bangladesh was abruptly halted on Monday following widespread protests in neighboring Bangladesh. The unrest led to the resignation of President Sheikh Hasina, traders disclosed.

Over the weekend, the Bangladesh government announced a three-day trade holiday through a formal notification, exempting essential services from the closure.

According to Ujjal Saha, Secretary of the West Bengal Exporters Coordination Committee, export and import activities at all land ports were stalled due to a lack of clearance from Bangladeshi customs. 'There had been some movement in the morning, but later it stopped,' he said.

The violent protests against the Sheikh Hasina government, occurring over the past two days, significantly disrupted trade. While several news outlets reported Hasina's resignation, there was no official word on her departure from Dhaka.

Sajedur Rahman, General Secretary of the Benapole C&F Staff Association, confirmed limited movement in the morning, which ceased after news of the President's resignation. Benapole, situated on the Bangladesh side of the Petrapole border in West Bengal, saw no truck movements in the latter part of the day.

Petrapole, the largest land port facilitating the bulk of bilateral trade, was also impacted. Despite this, officials at Petrapole mentioned there had been no communication from the government regarding an official trade halt.

(With inputs from agencies.)