Cargo trade through the Benapole-Petrapole border crossing was suspended from 17 to 24 October 2026 for overlapping Durga Puja holidays in India and Bangladesh, with resumption scheduled for 25 October, the regional shipping publication Maritime Gateway reported on 13 October.
The closures were staggered: Petrapole on the Indian side halted cargo trade from 17 to 21 October, and Benapole’s import-export operations closed from 20 to 24 October. Loading, unloading, clearance and customs assessment continued at Benapole on 18 and 19 October, and Indian drivers could return with empty trucks after unloading. Passport-holding passengers continued to cross, according to Benapole Immigration Police officer-in-charge Saifur Rahman.
The report said about 300 to 350 truckloads arrive at Benapole from India each day and about 100 move the other way. Land Ports Authority of India figures quoted in the report put Petrapole trade at ₹36,633.79 crore with 154,192 cargo movements in 2024-25, up from ₹30,420.92 crore in 2023-24.
Source
- Maritime Gateway: “Benapole-Petrapole trade suspension scheduled for 17–24 October” (13 October 2026)
File photo: Trucks on a road (undated file photo from Benapole). Photo: Diego Tirira from Quito, Ecuador / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is a summary prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
