India-Bangla cargo movement on waterways rises by 20%

India-Bangladesh cargo movement via waterways increased to 47.4 lakh tonnes in fiscal 2021-22, a 20 percent hike as Bangladeshi manufacturers preferred the river ways for transporting raw materials from India.

The figure is the highest since fiscal 2001-02, according to data of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

The figure nearly doubled in four years from 24 lakh tonnes in fiscal 2018-19 due to a rise in cement production in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh vessels carried 42.18 lakh tonnes of goods while Indian vessels carried 5.22 lakh tonnes during the last fiscal.

The cargo movement between Bangladesh and India through waterways has been growing for the third consecutive year.

The lower cost through the waterways between the two countries encouraged many businesses to transport goods under a Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between Bangladesh and India signed in 1972.