Indo-Bangla trade through Bengal land ports remains stalled, passenger movement continues
Kolkata (PTI): Trade between India and Bangladesh via West Bengal’s land ports remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Monday due to ongoing violence in the neighbouring country, although there was limited movement of passengers, officials said.
Goods trucks have not moved since Sunday with the Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole land port remaining non-functional due to a government-declared holiday, except for emergency services.
Petrapole, located in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district, serves as South Asia's largest land port and plays a crucial role in facilitating trade between India and Bangladesh, with hundreds of trucks crossing daily under normal circumstances.
While trade remains stalled, passenger movement continued in low numbers.
"Trade is yet to resume. However, movement of people, mainly students, continues across borders. So far, more than 700 students have arrived at Petrapole from Bangladesh," said Kamlesh Saini, manager of the Land Port Authority of India (Petrapole) told PTI.
So far, more than 4,500 Indian students have returned home from Bangladesh as the neighbouring country continues to reel under violent clashes that have killed over 100 people.
Saini said a help desk has been set up at Petrapole to assist arriving students with basic necessities such as snacks and water.
The BSF South Bengal Frontier has also set up special help desks at Integrated Check Posts (ICP) along the border to ensure the safe return of students amidst the unrest in Bangladesh.
Trade through other land ports in West Bengal, including Gojadanga, Fulbari, and Mahadipur, also remains suspended as Bangladeshi Customs offices are closed.
Indian officials are in discussions with their counterparts to facilitate the return of trucks and drivers stranded on the Bangladeshi side after delivering goods, sources said.
The last trade movement took place on Saturday with 110 trucks entering India from Bangladesh and 48 trucks leaving for the neighbouring country with exports. Currently, approximately 800 trucks loaded with merchandise are stranded in parking lots awaiting clearance to cross the border.
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Allahabad HC sets aside maintenance order in favour of earning wife, says she didn't tell truth
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has set aside a lower court order mandating a man to pay maintenance to his estranged wife, observing that she earns her living and did not reveal the true salary in her affidavit.
Justice Madan Pal Singh also allowed a criminal revision petition filed by the man, Ankit Saha.
"A perusal of the impugned judgment indicates that in the affidavit filed before the trial court, the opposite party herself admitted that she is a post-graduate and a web designer by qualification. She is working as a senior sales coordinator in a company and getting a salary of Rs 34,000 per month," the court said in the December 3 order.
"But in her cross-examination, she has admitted that she was earning Rs 36,000 per month. Such an amount for a wife who has no other liability cannot be said to be meagre; whereas the man has the responsibility of maintaining his aged parents and other social obligations," it observed.
The high court observed that the woman was not entitled to get any maintenance from her husband "as she is an earning lady and able to maintain herself".
The man's counsel argued in court that the estranged wife did not reveal the whole truth in the affidavit.
"She claimed herself to be an illiterate and unemployed woman. When the document filed by the man was shown to her before the trial court, she admitted her income during cross-examination. Thus, it is clear that she did not come before the trial court with clean hands," the counsel submitted.
The court, in its order, said, "Cases of those litigants who have no regard for the truth and those who indulge in suppressing material facts need to be thrown out of the court."
It impugned the lower court's February 17 judgment and order, passed by the principal judge of a family court in Gautam Buddh Nagar and allowed the criminal revision petition filed by the man.
