'Develop Gobrakura land port'
Leaders of Gobrakura Land Port Importers and Exporters Association (GLPEIA) in Haluaghat yesterday demanded development of Gobrakura land port instead of Koroitali land port.
The government has decided to develop Koroitali land port under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) programme.
The leaders demanded this at a press conference held at Mymensingh Press Club auditorium.
GLPEIA secretary Ali Agar, also former chairman of Haluaghat upazila, read out a written statement on behalf of the association leaders.
The press conference said the two ports are situated within a span of 12 kilometre area only. Gubrakura is five kilometre away from Haluaghat upazila headquarters and Koroitali is 10 kilometre off the upazila town.
While making a comparison between the two ports, the association leaders said 2 lakh 5,000 tons of coal was imported through Gobrakura land port in the last fiscal while 96,000 tons of coal was imported through Koroitali land port during the period.
The leaders said the government earned about Tk 40 crore as revenue from Gubrakura port in last three years while about Tk 19 crore was collected as revenue from Koroitali port during the same period.
The National Board of Revenue decided to establish Haluaghat-Gobrakura land port in Haluaghat in 1989. But a vested quarter foiled the move by operating the port activities illegally from Koroitali, they alleged.
The association leaders, at a meeting held on August 15 this year, informed the Land Port Authority chairman about existence of two land ports in Haluaghat.
Later, the chairman asked the local administration to investigate the matter by forming a five-member committee headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Md Afzal Hossain. The committee visited the spot on September 24. But the association leaders apprehended the investigation report might have been influenced by the vested quarters.
Among others, former lawmaker and GLPEIA president Advocate Promod Mankin, vice president Principal Abu Abdullah Hossain Khan and members Saleh Ahmed, also chairman of Haluaghat union, Makbul Hossain, Haji Abdur Rahim, Ashiqul Islam, Zabed Ali, Noor-e-Alam, Humayan Reza and Junabul Islam Bobi were present at the press conference.
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