Tura, Sep 28: In a first for the state of Meghalaya, a well-known businessman from Garo Hills won a coal India auction in the state of Jharkhand paving the way for coal from the state to enter Meghalaya en route to be exported to Bangladesh.
The first rake of coal, measuring 3300 MT arrived this morning at Goalpara train station in Assam, after being dispatched on Sep 24 from Bokaro. The rake consisted of a total of 53 containers with the coal, as per its owner, Georgeman Marak, likely to be pushed into Bangladesh through various ports in Assam and Meghalaya.
Marak is a businessman from the town of Williamnagar in East Garo Hills, who is involved in various trades, including stones, coal among others.
The move by the businessman has been welcomed by importers from Bangladesh, which as per them will open a new avenue for business for both countries.
“Due to the problems of coal extraction in the state of Meghalaya, we had to move our focus to other countries to meet the demands of our industries. We imported coal from Australia, Indonesia among others. However the quality of the coal was not up to the mark. The quality of the coal from Jharkhand is good and will benefit many businessmen like us in Bangladesh,” said importer from Bangladesh, SM Al Amin, who was also there as part of a contingent of coal businessmen in Goalpara this morning.
Al Amin further extended his thanks to Marak and his friends for working on ways to ensure Bangladesh got good quality coal from India.
According to Marak, the consignment is the first of many such that will enter the state in the coming months.
“We have been friends with importers from Bangladesh for decades. However the ban on coal mining has led to a stop in business between the two countries through various ports in Garo Hills. This has also led to a crisis of coal in Bangladesh which was earlier filled by us. This is an effort to mitigate that crisis and ensure the smooth relation between us continues,” said George.
Marak informed that they were looking at various ports in both Assam and Meghalaya, including Golokganj, Dalu and Gasuapara through which the coal they brought would be sent into Bangladesh.
He further felt that the move, the first possibly in the entire North East, could be a game changer in the years to come.
“The coal was won through an auction that was held by Coal India Limited in Jharkhand. We have many more such consignments coming through in the next few months,” he asserted.
