'Better India-Bangla land customs needed'

India's Director General for Foreign Trade Anup Pujari says land customs infrastructure with Bangladesh must be improved for bilateral trade.

India's Director General for Foreign Trade Anup K Pujari has insisted on improving the land customs infrastructure with Bangladesh to augment bilateral trade.

"This is a must and much money and effort must go into it," he told journalists here on Saturday.

Pujari said 43 percent of the total India-Bangladesh bilateral trade happens through land ports – mostly through the Petrapole-Benapole border.

"But condition of the roads from Kolkata to Petrapole needs to be improved. Unless we improve the infrastructure including the one at the land customs stations, the turnaround time for the trucks cannot be reduced," Pujari said.

"I am also deeply concerned at the rising transaction cost in India-Bangladesh trade. That needs to be scaled down in the interest of all," he said.

On Friday, Pujari addressed a seminar on India-Bangladesh relations organized by the Kolkata Chamber of Commerce.