The issue of not having a parking space for the trucks exporting products from Bhutan to Bangladesh at the border of India and Bangladesh is now solved. The parking space at Changrabandha in the Indian state of West Bengal was inaugurated yesterday.
The parking space was opened in presence of officials from Bhutan Exporters Association, local stakeholders and transporters in Changrabandha. The new parking space can accommodate over 700 trucks.
Over 350 trucks ferrying boulders, minerals and mines reach Changrabandha daily from Phuentshogling, Gomtu and Samtse to export to Bangladesh. Until now, without a designated parking space, trucks had to park along the highway and often landed up paying fines for breaching the rules.
Bhutan exporters association says that it took one year of negotiation with counterparts in India to come up with the parking lot.
“Initially we didn’t have many exports to Bangladesh. Now with the export of boulders, it has increased by three times. Therefore, we thought that having a designated parking space for Bhutan could ease the traffic problem here. Similarly, we have come up with the proposal to have parking space in Fulbari, which will open at the end of this month and it will also facilitate our exporters using Fulbari and Banglabandha for the export of Bhutanese commodities to Bangladesh,” Tshering Yeshi, the General Secretary of Bhutan Exporters Association, said.
The seven acres parking space is located just a kilometre away from the Bangladesh border. Bhutan Exporters Association is also negotiating to extend the border gate timing to enter Burimari port in Bangladesh.
Sonam Penjor
