Indo-Bangla border trade with Tripura and other north eastern states has been affected due to the political turmoil in the neighbouring country for the past two months, President of Tripura Chamber of Commerce and Industries (TCCI) Makhanlal Debnath said today.

“Businessmen of both the countries have incurred huge losses and the north eastern states are confronting the threat of a steep fall in revenue. Many people including day labourers involved with the business are also facing the threat of job loss,” Debnath said.

Denying media report that the cross border trade has come to a standstill, he said it had slowed down triggering shortage of cement, stone chips, fish and electronic goods which were imported from Bangladesh.

“We have fixed a target Rs 500 crore annual turnover in the border trade in this financial year, but we do not hope to reach the bar set,” Debnath said.

Secretary of Tripura Exporters and Importers Association (TEIA) Habul Biswas said, normally 200 trucks carrying Bangladeshi goods would enter Tripura everyday, but that was reduced to 50 now as truckers did not risk of plying vehicles in Bangladesh due to turmoil there. The border trade is seriously affected in Meghalaya and Assam also.

Biswas said, “We have talked to our business counterparts in Bangladesh, but they stated that border trade would continue to be hit if political problems continue.”

Debnath said, a business delegation of the neighbouring country would visit Tripura and other north eastern states tentatively in June next and discuss about the problems and its remedies.

The north eastern states share 1880 km border with Bangladesh.

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