By Joseph M. Kharkongor
Bangladesh is facing a sugar crisis…again! Yes, for over the past two years or so, the country has been grappling with a serious shortage of sugar as mills fail to meet local demand. This has aggravated the problems of the country which is already facing food inflation.
So, what in the sweet heavens went wrong? Some economists believe that high production costs and mismanagement of factories have led to a drop in sugar production in Bangladesh over the past two years. According to BSFIC, around 425000 acres of land are under sugarcane cultivation and the annual production is about 7.5 million tons, of which only 2.28 million tons are used in sugar mills and the rest goes to molasses making. But despite the 15 sugar mills in existence, production remained far less than the country’s total estimated annual demand of about 400000 tons.
The drooping of Bangladesh’s once blossoming sugar industry has in turn created a thriving illicit cross-border trade, opening the doors for smugglers through Bangladesh’s porous international borders like Meghalaya which stretches for approximately 443 kms. Smugglers collude with factory workers in India and villagers residing along the international border, who then smuggle sugar and sell it along the border areas. Bags of sugar from India are continually ferried into Bangladesh on almost a daily basis. Large-scale traders use large trucks and dumpers, while smaller traders rely on regular vehicles like pick-ups and sumos to ferry illegal sugar into the country through uncontrolled border points. The number of bags smuggled during each trip depends on the size of the vehicle; and once in Bangladesh, the sugar is repackaged into different sacks and smaller packages from local sugar factories to evade taxes.
Although some smugglers along the Indo-Bangla border have been prosecuted and smuggled sugar confiscated, law enforcement actions have not deterred such criminals. A multi-agency response is therefore, needed to stop sugar smuggling into Bangladesh. Investigative and enforcement teams made up of officials from the BSF, Customs and the MLP must work together to cripple the networks driving this crime. Lower taxation could also incentivize and enable sugar factories to produce cheaply, while lowering the retail price of sugar for local consumers. To protect the country from the influx of illegal sugar, the government must look beyond the current inadequate border control measures and find ways to make the smugglers’ rewards somewhat sour.
In some never-before-seen images made possible by an anonymous hacker, Bangladeshi smugglers numbering in the hundreds are seen exiting Indian soil carrying bags of sugar in broad daylight. GPS coordinates pinpoints the location to an open field of a village located at Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills; just a few hundred meters from the Indo-Bangla international border. The file which was extracted from the Gmail account of a senior employee at the Ministry of Home Affairs, appears to be the draft of an internal report.
According to this report, smuggling of cattle also takes place, where truckloads from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are shipped to the Indo-Bangla border ostensibly for grazing purposes. The average price of a buffalo, the report claims, is Rs. 2000; but once it crosses the international border, its price increases to Rs. 5000. Interestingly, the Bangladesh government levies custom duties on these smuggled cattle at the rate of Rs. 420 per cattle. Thus, a buffalo which would normally cost Rs. 2000 in India would cost Rs. 5420 after it is smuggled. No wonder cattle smuggling has become so lucrative!
Apart from this, smuggling of narcotics, liquor, arms and ammunition, precious stones and Chinese-made goods also finds its way into Bangladesh illegally. Presently, the Indo-Bangla border has 802 BOPs with 80 BSF battalions guarding the 4096.7 km long stretch; and on an average, seizes about one lakh cattle per year. Therefore, it is estimated that the Indian government is losing approximately Rs. 10560 crores to cattle smugglers annually. The 37-page report further claims that smuggling of other essential items such as salt and onion are also rampant along the Indo-Bangla border. To address these problems, the government should make an effort to first and foremost, settle border disputes and fully demarcate the borders at the earliest opportunity. It is also highly recommended that a ‘Border Trade Management Committee’ be created under the Border Security Force and the MLP, which would focus solely on illicit cross-border trade.
Proper management of borders is essential for national security and neglect of any of its aspects can seriously jeopardize the defence of the country. But effective management of India’s international borders is quite a challenging task given the difficult terrain and complex socio-economic milieu, coupled with unhelpful neighbours. However, identifying sensitive areas, increasing the number of border posts in these areas and augmenting the strength of the border guarding personnel in sensitive BOPs, could help in the prevention of smuggling. Additionally, installing alarm systems to detect breach of fence could also help in regulating suspicious activity in these areas.
It is imperative that due consideration should be given to these hurdles and adequate measures formulated to find a way out. It can be said without doubt that one area where the government needs to focus more is on Centre-state relations; as most of the problems of implementation of any plan or programme stem from their mutually divergent perceptions and hence uncooperative attitude towards each other. Another factor of vital importance for border management is to have a well-trained and dedicated border guarding force, which also has warm and friendly relations with the local population. Although larger constraints like lack of political will, vested interests and lack of coordination between Centre and State governments and sensitizing neighbours would require considerable time and concerted efforts to mitigate, smaller issues like smuggling however, could definitely be resolved if handled properly… all it takes is teamwork!
(The author is a private teacher and skill trainer. He resides at Mawlai Nongkwar, Shillong – 8. Joseph M. Kharkongor is not involved in any of the hacking or uncovering of information, but plays the part of a middleman, passing on data received anonymously via email to the press. For any questions or concern regarding material featured/mentioned in this article or any of the previous articles or letters by this author, feel free to email the hacker directly at [email protected])