India-Bangladesh relations: Bangladesh bends down before India, Yunus forced to buy…

Amidst the rapidly deteriorating India-Bangladesh relations, Dhaka is now facing a severe shortage of essential food items, which has once again forced its interim government led Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, to turn to India for help.

India-Bangladesh relations: Amidst the rapidly deteriorating India-Bangladesh relations, Dhaka is now facing a severe shortage of essential food items, which has once again forced its interim government led Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, to turn to India for help. According to report, Bangladesh has imported 468 tonnes of potatoes from India.

As per a report by ABP News, the shipment of potatoes from India arrived at the Benapole railway station in Bangladesh’s Jessore district on Thursday evening and the consignment, which was shipped via a goods train, will be unloaded on Saturday at the Benapole port or Noapara.

The report said that 9,460 sacks of potatoes have been imported from India worth $ 1,007,640. The shipment was imported by Tata Traders from Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi from Atif Exporters in Malda, West Bengal.

Dhaka is also reportedly import potatoes from Germany, Egypt, China and Spain, and onions from China, Pakistan and Turkey, to cut its dependence on Indian imports.

Commerce Ministry Secretary Salim Uddin had told Dhaka-based daily Prothom Alo that Bangladesh was mulling several options to control the price and supply of potatoes and onions.

Notably, it was earlier reported that Bangladesh was planning to import large quantities of sugar from Pakistan, a clear snub to New Delhi, as India is one of Bangladesh’s largest importers. Bangladesh’s interim government, which recently called off the bandwidth transit agreement with India, was also considering to cut imports of potatoes and onions from India, and mulling other sources for these staples, the reports said.

India-Bangladesh relations

India-Bangladesh relations have taken a nosedive after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad, coming to the helm in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has witnessed widespread communal violence against minorities, especially Hindus, which has soured Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi, with the latter accusing the Yunus-led interim government of not doing enough, and turning a blind eye to the atrocities perpetrated by radical Islamist elements against the minority Hindu community in the country.