The number of India-bound passengers transiting the Benapole land port rosed ahead of this Eid-ul-Azha as 45000 Bangladeshis travelled to the neighbouring country in seven days for shopping or spending holidays.
According to port sources, about 3000-3500 Bangladeshis went to India through Benapole port every day of the past week and the number of travellers rose to 7000 each day this week.
The transit earned revenue worth Tk 2.30 crore, they said.
Mozaffar Rahman, a traveller going to India through the Benapole check post, said he was going to Kolkata to do Eid shopping for his family. He sometimes goes to Kolkata as the price of the clothes is affordable.
Besides, many are going to spend the Eid holidays there.
The authorities in the Benapole check-post made the arrangements to complete the standard procedures quickly to ease travellers’ transit.
However, they are coerced to brave the long queues at Indian checkpoints as they remain stranded for hours.
Ahsan Habib, immigration officer-in-charge of Benapole check post, said that on average 7,000 passengers with passports are travelling to Bangladesh and India through Benapole land port every day ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. That number could exceed 9,000 in the next week.
