The cargo movement between Bangladesh and India via waterways increased to 47.4 lakh tonnes in the fiscal year 2021-22 – fetching a 20% growth – as Bangladeshi manufacturers preferred the river routes for transporting raw materials from India.
According to the data from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), this figure is the highest since the fiscal year 2001-02.
Moreover, the figure is nearly doubled in four years from 24 lakh tonnes in the fiscal year 2018-19, due to a rise in cement production in Bangladesh, said the media in their reports.
During the last fiscal year (2021-22), Bangladeshi vessels carried 42.18 lakh tonnes while Indian vessels carried 5.22 lakh tonnes, data said.
The growing tendency in cargo movement through waterways between India and Bangladesh has been continual for the third consecutive year.
A number of businesses preferred waterways to transport goods from India due to the pandemic, convenience, lower cost, and many other reasons under a Protocol on Inland Water Transit & Trade between Bangladesh and India (PIWT&T) signed in 1972.
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