India seeks right to transship food to Tripura
India now hopes to ship 35,000 metric tons of food grain from Kolkata
to Tripura using Ashuganj port, despite the fact that the trial run
period on the Bangladeshi facility has expired.
The Indian government has placed a request with Bangladesh to allow
use of the shipment facilities on sovereign territory, in order to
deliver food to refugees from rebel factions in the country's
northeastern states. Experts within Bangladesh have suggested that,
until the terms of a transshipment policy, including service charges
and other guidelines, can be finalised, Bangladesh should deny India
frequent use of the Ashuganj facility.
In a letter sent on January 30, from the Indian High Commission to
Dhaka, to Bangladesh's foreign ministry, shipping ministry, Bangladesh
Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), and the National Board of
Review, the Indian government has sought permission for transshipment,
as soon as possible, and without additional documentation, like risk
bonds."We seek the facility, as we need to send grain on an emergency
basis," the letter said.
The Prime Minister's economic adviser, Moshiur Rahman, told The
Independent that the Bangladeshi government had, in principal, agreed
to transshipment in the past.
The issue, this time, involves changes in the transit and
transshipment policies currently underway. Earlier, Indian
administrators had used the existing transshipment policies, to move
huge volumes of metals for the construction of a power plant, through
Bangladeshi territory, without paying any fees.
Dr M. Rahmatullah, former director of the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said the
government should suspend transport of Indian goods through
Bangladeshi territory, until new terms are legally established.
Previously, the commerce ministry had formed a committee, along with
Tariff Commission chairman Mujibur Rahman, to submit reports on routes
and to assess the volume of traffic. The final report has been
submitted to the cabinet by the committee, with approval expected by
March.
Under the core committee, the government formed five subcommittees to
finalise routes, assess infrastructure requirements, analyse transit,
and the economic and legal issues involved in establishing a new
transshipment policy with India.
In the 2009-10 budget, the present government imposed tariffs of Tk.
1,000 to Tk. 10,000 for other countries, to transport goods through
Bangladesh.
Following the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), Bangladeshi customs
seized two Indian vessels that refused to pay the fee. Under
significant pressure from the Indian government, Bangladesh eventually
suspended the fees, until new guidelines were established.
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