Businessmen have halted stone imports from India through Sonahat land port in Bhurungamari, Kurigram, since July 18 leaving small traders and workers in distress and causing heavy daily revenue losses for the government.
On Wednesday morning the port's warehouses stood empty with no Indian trucks in sight. Stone-crushing machines lay idle, depots were bare and truck terminals had no vehicles. Port officials said an average of 120 Indian trucks used to enter daily with stone shipments but none has arrived in the past four days.
Importers said the halt followed complaints over deteriorating stone quality and a sudden price hike by Indian suppliers. Instead of river stone boulders also traders have been supplying smaller stones that shrink further after auto-crushing and making them unusable for construction companies that require standard sizes. Loading stone directly from mines onto trucks has also worsened quality the importers said.
Prices have risen sharply as well. River stone that once cost $11 per ton around Tk 1,280 to 1,300 after reaching Bangladesh now costs $13.5 per ton and pushing the local price to about Tk 1,670. Traders said the unilateral price increase, combined with poor quality forced them to suspend imports indefinitely.
The shutdown has hit port workers hard. Loading and unloading laborers Hashem Ali and Ashar Uddin said they now have little work. Truck driver Faridul Islam said his income has dropped sharply, leaving his family struggling. Commission agents Shukkur Ali and Nurul Islam said they used to dispatch around 15 trucks daily to different districts but have sent none in the last five days.
Abu Hena Masum, joint general secretary of the Sonahat Land Port Import and Export Workers Association said no contractor wants to buy the current low-quality stone. Abul Hossain Vypari the president of the Land Port Import Exporters Association said the suspension was necessary due to the mismatch between demand and the poor quality being supplied.
Aminul Haque, assistant director of Sonahat Land Port, confirmed that stone imports have stopped due to a standoff between traders of both countries adding that the government is losing significant revenue every day the halt continues.
