Even after 8 years of inauguration, Daulatganj Land Port of Jibannagar Upazila of Chuadanga has not been opened. As a result, there is frustration among the residents of Jibannagar upazila about the opening of the port. If the Daulatganj Land Port becomes operational, various products can be easily imported and exported with India. If this land port becomes operational, the distance from Dhaka to Kolkata will be reduced by about 70 km. Compared to Benapole Land Port, this land port will reduce the travel time with capital Dhaka by 2-3 hours. Traders will be able to import goods from India quickly and at relatively low cost. As a result, the government will be able to earn more revenue than other land ports in the country. At present 500-600 trucks come and go through Benapole port in Jashore. It takes three to 18 days to redeem them. In this, the concerned people faced great financial loss. If Daulatganj is a full-fledged land port, it will be possible to unload at least 200 trucks of goods every day. This will reduce the pressure on the Benapole land port as well as the financial losses of the import-exporters will be reduced. Besides, there will be employment arrangements for hundreds of local people.
Locals said that Daulatganj land port is located on the Daulatganj border of Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district. In addition, Mazdia border under Nadia district of West Bengal, India is located opposite this port. The route of this port is Daulatganj-Mazdia road connection. The distance from Daulatganj land port to capital Dhaka is only 256 km. Both countries have wide paved roads up to the border. If the port is opened, it will be possible to save transport costs in import-export work and transport goods quickly. Besides strengthening the economic base of the country, the port will play an important role in the development of the area. At present, Daulatganj land port has all the infrastructure and road communication facilities.
Daulatganj land port implementation committee president Golam Mortuza said that from 1953 to 1965 Daulatganj-Majdia land port was operational as a customs station. However, during the Indo-Pak war in 1965, the customs station was closed. Later, the National Board of Revenue of the Government of Bangladesh ordered the re-opening of the customs station in 1972. Later it stopped again.
Then on July 15, 1998, the National Board of Revenue issued a notification to re-open the customs station and allowed 19 goods to be imported into the port. Later, in another notification on 11 June 2009, the National Board of Revenue directed all concerned departments to implement customs stations. That too did not see the light of day.
Later, in February of this year, the government published a gazette declaring Daulatganj of Jibannagar in Chuadanga district as land port (land customs station). This announcement was made in a notification of the Internal Resources Department, National Board of Revenue, Government of Bangladesh. Now after publication of the final gazette it is to be seen how many days it will be implemented.
He also said that earlier on July 31, 2013, the Ministry of Shipping had published a gazette declaring Jibannagar Daulatganj customs station as a full-fledged land port.
At that time, on August 24 of the same year, the then Minister of Shipping, Mohammad Shahjahan Khan, inaugurated the foundation stone of this port, which was waiting to be launched. Then on June 4, 2014, then Shipping Minister Mohammad Shahjahan Khan and then Indian Ambassador Pankaj Sharan again visited the proposed site for the port. At that time, two senior officials of the Bangladesh-India government announced the opening of the port as soon as possible, but later the initiative was stopped.
Daulatganj Land Port Implementation Committee General Secretary Abu Abdul Latif Amal said that there is a transshipment yard on three acres of land at the port under the guidance of Jashore Customs Authority. Initially, 200 cars can be loaded and unloaded. There is a 6 km road of 20 feet width up to Jibannagar along with a 30 feet wide road with a capacity of 50 tonnes at the zero point of the border. Also, another 40.48 acres of land in the port area can be acquired at an affordable price. He also said that Daulatganj land port has all the facilities of road communication and infrastructure. The distance of the Indian National Highway from the port is 34 km. Moreover, it is possible to travel to all places from Tungi to Krishnanagar on National Highway 34 in the Indian part. Daulatganj land port is 25 kilometers away from the national highway, which is much less than the distance of other land ports in the country. Due to which the import and export of goods with India will be faster than other land ports of the country and the cost of transportation will be much cheaper.
Yakub Hossain Malik, president of Chuadanga Chamber of Commerce said, if the port is opened, new horizons will open up in the business of the district. Traders from different parts of the country will rush to import goods through here. The economic scenario of Chuadanga district will change.