Trade Started between India-Bangladesh through Ports on Ganga

India and Bangladesh opened trade via the Maia (West Bengal)-Sultanganj (Bangladesh) river ports on the Ganga river. Shantanu Thakur, the Indian Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, flagged off the first cargo vessels carrying stones from Maia inland customs port.

About the trade

• State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, together with the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Pranay Verma, inaugurated Sultanganj-Godagari Port of Call in Bangladesh, and flagged off a cargo vessel from Sultanganj to Maia port in India. 
• The High Commissioner emphasized the importance of this new river route for the growing trade and connectivity between India and Bangladesh.
• The distance between Maia port and Sultanganj port is 16km, of which 4.5km of waterways are in India and 11.5km are in Bangladesh. 
• Once the inland waterway route becomes operational, each cargo will be able to transport 200-300 tonnes of goods, reducing the pressure on road transportation, according to an official statement from the Bangladesh side.
• When the river port becomes fully operational, it will lower the prices of various commodities on either side of the border due to the low transportation costs. 
• This move will also boost trade and connectivity between India and Bangladesh. Business leaders in Bangladesh plan to use the river port mainly for imports of stones, coal, fly ash, fruits, vegetables, and spices from India, and for exports of jute and garments.

Border between Bangladesh and India

• The border between Bangladesh and India, known locally as the Radcliffe line (IB), is an international border that runs through the eight divisions of Bangladesh and the Indian states. 
• It is a 4,096-kilometre-long border, making it the fifth-longest land border in the world. The border includes 262 km in Assam, 856 km in Tripura, 318 km  in Mizoram, 443 km in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km in West Bengal.
• The Bangladeshi divisions of Mymensingh, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet, and Chittagong are situated along the border, and there are several pillars marking the border between the two states. Both sides of the border have small, fenced-off areas.
• In 1974, the prime ministers of India and Bangladesh signed a Land Boundary Agreement to exchange enclaves and simplify the international border. However, India did not ratify the agreement at that time. 
• In 2011, the two countries agreed again to exchange enclaves and adverse possessions, and a revised version of the agreement was eventually adopted when the Parliament of India passed the 119th Amendment to the Indian Constitution on 7 May 2015.
• Inside the main part of Bangladesh, there were 111 Indian enclaves, while inside the main part of India, there were 51 Bangladeshi enclaves. 
• Under the Land Boundary Agreement, the residents of the enclaves were given the choice to continue living where they were or move to the country of their choice.