Shillong: The Secretary for Industries and Commissioner, Meghalaya, Sanjay Goyal, recently confirmed that the state has seen a revenue dip in just five days due to the sudden shutdown of the border trade. The ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh has significantly impacted border trade in Meghalaya, which shares a 443km international border with India's neighbouring country.
According to recent reports, the weightage issue has caused a two-week halt in the import of coal, boulder stone, and limestone from Dawki to Bangladesh.
Business North East (BNE) spoke to Dolly Khonglah, Secy of the Meghalaya International Export Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of Indo Bangla Chambers of Commerce, Guwahati, who confirmed a weighing problem with the importers. Dolly Khonglah said that while the situation in Bangladesh is currently challenging, the immediate problem stems from weighting issues.
"We export bulk limestone directly from the quarry. There is no cleaning process. At times, mud, sand, and soil mix with the stone. The stones are also irregularly shaped, with some weighing 5 kg. To protect the stones from breaking, planks are placed in the trucks,” she said during the interview.
Dolly Khonglah further revealed that she had met the Bangladesh Land Port Authority Chairman, Md Manjurul, to discuss the problems faced by Meghalaya amid the ongoing crisis. She has asked Bangladesh to resolve the issue as it has affected businesses in Meghalaya.
When asked about the previous shipments, Dolly Khonglah said an average of 800 trucks for limestone and boulders were shipped out of Meghalaya daily. Moreover, the Secy of the Meghalaya International Export Chamber of Commerce revealed that coal exports started in October 2024.
"20-30 vehicles loaded with coal were exported a few days ago. But the ban from Bangladesh halted the process."
She also expressed that the current situation in Bangladesh is not good. Dolly Khonglah said that these problems have been there for many years. However, the stoppage is a major issue impacting the economy.
Meanwhile, some crucial events have strengthened the India-Bangladesh relationship over the years, such as - the joint inauguration of the India and Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline by the Prime Ministers of both countries, Bangladesh taking part in various ministerial tracks like the G-20 meeting, three Indian-assisted development cooperation projects were jointly inaugurated in Bangladesh, including the Akhaura-Agartala cross-border rail link, the Khulna-Mongla Port rail line, and the second unit of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant. This has allowed Indians to gain the services of these ports in Bangladesh for transit cargo between northeast and mainland India.
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In the power and energy sector, substantial support and cooperation from Bangladesh enabled the import of 1,160 megawatts (MW) of power from India. A joint steering committee on power facilitates cross-border electricity trade. India’s largest Oil and Grid Company, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is involved in offshore oil exploration in Bangladesh.
Moreover, IOCL had registered itself as a government-to-government (G2G) supplier in 2023 for supplying refined petroleum products to Bangladesh. India has also extended four Lines of Credit (LOC) to Bangladesh in the last eight years, amounting to around USD 8 billion.
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