UNB, Benapole :
Transportation of goods through the country’s largest land port Benapole has been crippled due to the transport fare hike following the recent price hike in fuel oils.
Businessmen at the port alleged that transport owners have increased the truck fare abnormally after the fuel price hike. As a result, they can’t send goods across the country as trucks are not available now, which created chaos in the transport system of the port.
Importers, transport agents and C & F agents are struggling to send goods to various places in the country imported from India.
Meanwhile, passengers of Benapole who returned home from India have to count additional money as all long route buses have increased the fare from Tk 200 to Tk 700 in different categories.
Importers said they used to pay Tk 15,000 to 21,000 a trip of a goods-laden truck from Benapole to Dhaka. But now, owners of the trucks are charging Tk 25,000 to 28,000 which is too much abnormal compared to the recent price hike of fuel.
Importers cannot release goods from the port due to a lack of trucks despite paying duty to the port customs, they lamented.
On the other hand, some importers of Dhaka said they can’t bring the imported goods to factories because of additional truck fares.
Anwar Ali Anu, an importer of Jashore, said he brought goods from Benapole to Jashore by truck at Tk 5,000 maximum in the last month. But now truck owners are charging Tk 11,000 for the same amount of goods.
“This additional truck fare will trigger us to the losses,” he added.
Benapole Transport Agency Owners’ Association General Secretary Azim Uddin said importers will have to pay Tk 10,000 additional fare per truck as fuel cost has increased the pressure on the transport sector.
Echoing the same, Atikuzzaman Sony, president of the organisation said businessmen don’t get a truck or covered van despite offering additional fares increasing suffering for the importers.
Benapole Port Importers-Exporters Association president Mohsin Milon said many businesses are giving additional fares for some goods which might be rotted.
