Petrapole

Petrapole is the Indian side of Petrapole-Benapole border checkpoint between India and Benapole of Bangladesh, on the Bangladesh-India border, near Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Petrapole border is the only land port in south Bengal. It is also the largest land customs station in Asia.[1]

BSF at Petrapole

Petrapole
Neighbourhood in North 24 Parganas
Jessore Road, Petrapole
Petrapole
Location in West Bengal, India
Petrapole
Petrapole (India)
Coordinates: 23.0°N 88.83°E / 23.0; 88.83
Country India
StateWest Bengal
DistrictNorth 24 Parganas
Elevation
6 m (20 ft)
Languages
 • OfficialBengali, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationWB
Websitenorth24parganas.nic.in
Crossing Border at Petrapole

Location

Petrapole is in the district of North 24 Parganas and is about 95 km from Kolkata on the National Highway 112 (formerly NH 35). The nearest town and passenger rail station is Bongaon.[1]

Significance

This check post accounts for more than half of the $4-billion (nearly double the trade volume with Pakistan) trade with Bangladesh. This is the largest land port of Asia.[2] The landport alone accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh.[3] According to study by RITES, the goods traffic is approximately 400 trucks per day both ways, while the 2006 passenger traffic was about 1,159 people per day (both incoming and outgoing). The total traffic in 2029-30 has been projected as 2,938 trucks per day and the passenger traffic by then will be 3,924 people per day.[4]

En route to Petrapole

Communication

The Petrapole-Benapole rail link was opened in 2001 after being closed for 24 years.[5] There is a proposal to construct a by-pass road to ease congestion on the present road, connecting Benapole to NH 112 (earlier NH 35), bypassing Bangaon.[6] On 9 November 2017, Nearly 10 years after Kolkata-Dhaka passenger train was flagged off after a gap of 43 years, a new train – Bandhan Express – was inaugurated between Kolkata and Khulna in Bangladesh (via Petrapole and Benapole), covering a distance of about 172 km. This is a weekly train and runs on Thursdays from both sides.

Petrapole Railway Station
Auto to Petropole

References
  1. "Chief secretary visits Petrapole border". The Times of India. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. Bose, Pratim Ranjan; Law, Abhishek (12 March 2018). "Customs wants better rail link thru Petrapole". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. Integrated check post planned at Petrapole to boost trade with Dhaka thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013
  4. Petrapole infrastructure to be beefed up thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013
  5. Petrapole-Benapole rail link re-opens after 24 years hindu.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013
  6. Bypass to ease border traffic telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013
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