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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
How border trade restrictions are impacting lives, livelihoods in the northeast
The Union government's decision to restrict trade with Bangladesh over bilateral tension has impacted local economies in several border towns in northeastern states, locals said. India has 13 land ports and four water ports with Bangladesh across northeastern states among which, Meghalaya's Dawki, Tripura's Akhaura, Assam's Sutarkandi are busiest, according to traders. According to Amaresh Roy, general secretary of the Indo-Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industries (Guwahati Chapter), the primary export products from the northeast are coal, stone, limestone, ginger, onion, rice, dry chilli and fruits. While the major imports include wooden furniture, plastic products, cement, GI Sheets, waste cotton, iron rods, fish, pickles, soft drinks, biscuits and some other food products. 'Most of the food and beverage items, plastic products and some others have been restricted and this will hamper Bangladesh more than India,' he said. 'The major companies in Bangladesh are dependent on our buyers, so in a period of time, they are going to understand the importance of India' Roy said, nearly 3,500 traders in Northeastern states have Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and they are directly involved in import-export. But more than 10,000 other businessmen are indirectly dependent on India-Bangladesh trade. 'Apart from the traders, truck owners and drivers, repair shops, food stalls, daily wage labourers to petrol pumps and many are dependent on these export-import businesses. And it is true that the lives of many would be becoming difficult if the ban continues for long,' he added. Sribhumi's Sutarkandi land port is a major trade point between the two countries and the economy of this area is dependent on the trades, according to the local shopkeepers. Chandan Das, 35, is a goods loader who works at the Sutarkandi land-port in Sribhumi district and earns ₹100 to 150 for loading goods on one truck. 'Around 7 days back, I was earning ₹500 to 750 per day, during the working days but the situation suddenly changed and now I cannot even buy food for my kids,' he said, adding he is not opposing the ban as he is patriotic. Salman Ali, owner of a tea-stall near Sutarkandi land-port, said that the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in Bangladesh last year created difficulties for local businesses on both sides of the border and the uncertainty has intensified. 'This area is far from the (nearest) city (Sribhumi) but you'll see good restaurants here, life is better because of the flow of money. But this is fading, especially after August last year. And now, with this complete ban, life is going to become difficult,' he said. The imposed restrictions, however, are important as it is connected to security, traders said. Local trader, Santanu Sutradhar said that none of the land ports in northeast have facilities to check the quality of food and quarantine them if required. So, the possibility of contaminating food reaching Indian consumers cannot be ruled out. 'After Operation Sindoor, Pakistan is trying to attack India in many ways and Bangladesh has extended support to them. Since a large amount of food products are entering India through Bangladesh, this gives the anti-India forces an opportunity to damage us internally,' he said. MEGHALAYA In neighbouring Meghalaya, the trade ban has disrupted traditional border commerce and impacted the livelihoods of thousands dependent on cross-border exchanges in the state. According to officials from the state's commerce and industries department, Meghalaya recorded a revenue drop of approximately ₹2.54 crore within just five days of the halt in border trade. The export of coal, boulder stones, and limestone from Dawki, one of the busiest land customs stations, has also been suspended due to alleged procedural and weighing issues, coupled with reported political instability across the border. 'The situation is worrisome. Exporters, daily wage workers, truckers, and small traders are all affected. Dawki and Borsora are among the worst hit,' a senior trade official in Shillong said on condition of anonymity. Border haats (temporary market spaces) —weekly cross-border markets that once thrived in places like Ryngku and Lalpani in East Khasi Hills—have also ground to a halt. Local traders report that these markets, which serve as lifelines for people on both sides of the border, have remained closed due to increased security measures and waning demand. 'We used to earn a decent living selling and buying essentials across the border. But with the restrictions and the unrest in Bangladesh, everything has come to a standstill,' said Mebanlin Nongrum, a small trader from Mawsynram, adding, 'We are struggling to make ends meet.' TRIPURA Traders in Tripura have not been severely impacted as yet because a few important trade items including edible oil, fish, LPG and crushed stones were exempted from the restriction. In a recent high-level meeting, director of Tripura's industries and commerce department Shailesh Kumar Yadav discussed the implementation of the restriction on important of goods including fruit drinks, processed food items, plastic and PVC furnished goods, wooden furniture through any land custom stations or integrated check-posts in Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram and LCS at Changrabandha and Fulbari in West Bengal. In the meeting, the traders were told to follow restrictions imposed by the Union government on important of selective products from Bangladesh through land ports. Bidhan Saha, a local departmental store owner, said there is no shortage of Bangladeshi products, especially those produced by Pran Group, like packeted puffed rice, toast biscuits and other FMCG items, which are still in stock with local distributors. Bangladesh's Pran Group runs a factory at the state-owned Bodhjungnahar industrial estate, where several other industrial units were provided land and other facilities as part of the state government's efforts to invite investments in Tripura. Saha, however, said several of his customers have expressed discontent at the show of anti-Indian sentiments by a section of Bangladeshi citizens, questioning why they will buy Bangladeshi products when their incumbent administration has been making anti-Indian statements since last year. Local fishermen at Battala and Lake Chowmuhani market of Agartala city have said there is no fish crisis yet since fish is exempted from the import restrictions along with a few other products like LPG, edible oil, stone chips. A local construction material supplier, who asked not to be named, said there was no shortage of Bangladeshi construction materials like cement and stone chips in the local market but distributors have indicated that cement prices could soar because getting fresh supplies might become tough. 'We have said that any abrupt rise in prices will make it difficult for us to replenish our stocks with Bangladeshi products. There is no shortage of products yet,' the trader said. Tripura imported goods worth Rs. 453 crores through Akhaura ICP last year. The northeastern state, mainly exports stone chips, lentils, dry chilly, ginger, cumin seeds etc., while imports different varieties of fish, LPG, cement, PVC door, PVC pipe, different types of drinks, wood, plastic materials, cotton waste etc. The bilateral trade volume between Tripura and neighbouring Bangladesh declined from Rs. 1008.40 crores in 2021-22 to Rs. 715.98 crores in 2023-24, as per an industries and commerce department report released in the state assembly in March. Of the total Rs. 1008.40 crores bilateral trade in 2021-22 financial year, Tripura imported goods valued at Rs. 767.00 crores while the state exported goods amounting at Rs. 241.40 crores, as per the report. Overall trade was reduced to Rs. 758.09 crores in 2022-23 with Tripura imported goods amounting at Rs. 636.72 crores and exported Rs. 121.37 crores goods to Bangladesh. Later in 2023-24, the overall trade was again declined to Rs. 715.98 crores as the state imported goods of Rs. 703.67 crores and exported goods valued at Rs. 12.31 crores. MIZORAM Traditional cross-border trade in western Mizoram has been severely disrupted due to the restrictions, which have had a cascading impact on the region's economy, particularly affecting ginger exports. Malsawmi, CEO of Aizawl-based Starfin, said that the suspension of exports to Bangladesh has delivered a significant blow to ginger traders in Mizoram. 'Bangladesh is our largest market for ginger, and their buyers are integral to the long-standing trade relationship we've shared. The current ban has not only made exports impossible but also caused ginger prices to collapse within the state,' she said. Following the closure of the international boundary, the price of ginger in Mizoram has dropped to ₹17 per kilogram, far below the ₹28 per kilogram rate seen in Delhi, Silchar, and Siliguri markets, Malsawmi added. She also noted that ginger from Mizoram is in high demand in Bangladesh, where it is widely used in food, traditional medicine, and processing industries. Hriatpuia, a local trader from the border town of Tlabung, echoed similar concerns. He told HT that the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have both tightened control over cross-border movement, effectively halting traditional exchanges between villages. 'Ever since the tension between India and Pakistan escalated, the movement of villagers across the border has been heavily restricted. What was once a vibrant trade hub is now a zone of caution and silence,' Hriatpuia said. He also mentioned that BSF posts, previously manned by junior personnel, are now under the command of senior officers who are enforcing stricter protocols. Mizoram shares a 318-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh, stretching across the Mamit, Lunglei, and Lawngtlai districts. For generations, local communities have engaged in informal trade across this boundary—ties that are now fraying under the weight of geopolitics. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Mail & Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
ANC cries sabotage as 99 voters deregister from IEC's Free State roll amid R7000 bribery allegations
At least 99 voters have deregistered from the Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC) voter's roll in the Free State over the past year. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) At least 99 voters have deregistered from the Independent Electoral Commission's ( The increase in deregistrations has raised suspicions in the ANC about why a group of people would sign out of the democratic process. ANC members have suggested it is part of a 'plot' to undermine their majority in the province. IEC spokesperson David Mandaha said that in the last financial year, at least 99 registered voters in certain segments of the Free State voters' roll had voluntarily deregistered. In 2021/2022, one person deregistered from the IEC's voters roll in the Free State province while in 2022/20 22 three deregistered and 33 people deregistered in 2023/2024. Mandaha confirmed that there had been a 'relative rise' in the number of deregistrations in this fincial year. He said deregistration as a voter means that citizens are abdicating their right to elect public representatives and relegating this to others. A registered voter wanting to deregister must complete a deregistration form and submit it in person, along with their identity document, to a municipal electoral office, in accordance with section 10 of the Electoral Act and voter registration regulations. The local office will forward the forms to the national office. Mandaha said the procedure is designed to protect citizens' franchise rights against arbitrary actions or undue influence. Senior ANC leaders the Mail & Guardian spoke to said they are aware of some voters being offered R7 000 a month to deregister. One source, who declined to be named, claimed she was approached and promised R7 000 monthly, provided it could be continually proven that she remained deregistered. She said this required her to visit her 'handler' at the beginning of each month to prove that she was still deregistered. 'They said that as long as we prove we are deregistered, we would receive the money. They did not say where they were from.' When further questioned about whether she had received the payment or completed the deregistration, the source declined to comment further. The ActionSA provincial chair Patricia Kopano said this was the first time she had heard about this, questioning whether people are allowed constitutionally to do this. 'How can you deregister yourself, it's like removing yourself from the National Population Register Act. It is only through home affairs [department] through the death certificate that you can be deregistered. To go to the extreme that I want to deregister, I've never heard of that,' she said. Kopano said the only way to change the government is through the ballot paper, adding that if one is registered, they can abstain rather than go to the IEC to deregister. She said the party would open criminal charges against any people involved in such a scheme because this was unconstitutional and undemocratic. 'There's a loophole in the IEC, they must make sure why a person is deregistering. As ActionSA, we believe this is a criminal offence. Any political party that is encouraging people not to go and vote is unconstitutional.' 'We are also advocating that it must become a law where people must be forced to go and vote. In other countries, it is a criminal offence if you don't go and vote.' Independent elections analyst Wayne Sussman said he has never heard about people deregistering before, because people preferred to just stay away from voting. He said usually people get deregistered when they die or immigrate. 'Usually when people do not participate in an election, it is when they simply do not show up to vote. We know that in the last three consecutive major elections, we have had the worst turn out — the elections in 2019, the local government elections in 2021 and the one in the national elections in 2024. 'I am not familiar with this deregistration campaign. I mean R7000, if it is a successful campaign and you do that properly, that's going to be a lot of money.' An IEC source told the M&G that in recent months, several people had visited the IEC offices to deregister in the Free State. The official said that although the Constitution allows for voter deregistration, the number of requests has 'raised eyebrows'. 'To be honest, it dropped a bit last month, but there was a time when we were processing a large number,' the official said. 'It started with black voters, but in the past two months, we've seen more white people deregistering.' The official confirmed that a provincial meeting had taken place to address the surge in deregistrations. 'I know the local The official dismissed allegations that IEC staff were involved in bribery, saying: 'People make baseless accusations. Some say they're deregistering due to poor service delivery — it's a political strategy. But ultimately, these people are choosing to remove themselves and they know they can register again later if they want.' Free State Premier Letsoha-Mathae said she knew of an ANC woman who was approached to deregister and she had asked the mayor of the municipality to verify the claims. 'Indeed, they found that the particular person was no longer on the register. I am not sure if she removed herself,' said Letsoha-Mathae. She added that mayors of various municipalities have been instructed to request affidavits from people who claim to have been offered money to deregister. 'They are hesitant to come forward and submit affidavits to municipalities … We've said that during this registration period, there is a need to engage those who've been identified, and we hope they will comply.' Letsoha-Mathae characterised the allegations as sabotage against the ANC. 'If people known to be ANC activists are being paid not to vote so that other parties can gain support, then it is sabotage. Free State police spokesperson Mmako Mophiring said police were not aware of the allegations and that no case had been opened in this regard. The ANC has traditionally maintained strong support in the province despite a collapse in service delivery. But, in the 2021 local government elections, the ANC lost control of the troubled Maluti-a-Phofung municipality and entered into a coalition with smaller parties. The ANC also lost its outright majority in the Metsimaholo and Matjhabeng local municipalities. In the A senior ANC official in the province said that known ANC supporters were allegedly being offered money to deregister, but they could not confirm whether IEC officials were involved. 'As things stand, we don't have evidence of who is paying or promising these individuals money.' The official claimed that 'multiple parties' were attempting to sabotage the ANC. 'These people are discouraging communities from voting to reduce support for ANC-led municipalities. It's happening particularly in ANC-led wards.' The official said the IEC has confirmed that some people have deregistered but noted that it remains unclear whether they were paid to do so. 'We are not certain if MPLC members from different parties are collaborating with IEC officials,' they added. Dihlabeng local municipality mayor Tseki Tseki said he is aware of the issue and that it has been going on for several months. 'While I may not know the reasons behind their deregistration, it appears to be a targeted attempt against the ANC ahead of next year's elections,' he said. 'The stakes are high, and perhaps the aim is to reduce the number of ANC councillors, given the narrow margins. This may be a desperate attempt to unseat the ANC.' Tseki said the alleged practice was undemocratic. 'This is not good for our democracy. Given our country's history, when people were denied the right to vote, it is unacceptable that anyone would now discourage others from participating in the democratic process.' He said the ANC would intensify voter registration campaigns. 'There may be some who have deregistered, but more people will register. There will still be registration weekends before election day. We must ensure all eligible voters are encouraged to register and vote for the party of their choice.'
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Concerns rise as South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal deregister as voters for bribes
The IEC alleged that some South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal were deregistering as voters and abandoning their citizenship in exchange for bribes. Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers Councillors and officials at the Msunduzi Municipality have been told that some residents in KwaZulu-Natal, including the Umgungundlovu District Municipality, are deregistering as voters and South Africans in exchange for bribes from unidentified people. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)'s Umngungudlovu District Manager, Khulekani Mdadane, revealed this ahead of Msunduzi Mayor, Mzimkhulu Thebolla, delivering the city's annual budget on Wednesday. Mdadane did not say who stood to benefit by bribing South Africans to deregister as voters and abandon their citizenship. 'We are worried that we are currently inundated with a number of people who are visiting our office intending to deregister or wanting to be removed from the voters roll,' said Mdadane. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ He said this was flying in the face of the IEC's mandate of maintaining the voters roll and encouraging young people who have turned 16 to register. 'Daily, we are receiving one, two, or three voters (who want to deregister), which has raised serious worries for the IEC. 'It is not only this district, I am told that it is happening in other districts in this province of KwaZulu-Natal,' said Mdadane. He said the IEC had conducted an investigation to establish what was happening and established that voters were being misled and promised money. 'They are being promised a lump sum of money, and they are told that they have to deregister with the IEC, and step two is to deregister with the Home Affairs, which seriously worries us because the moment you deregister with the Home Affairs, it means you are no longer a citizen of this country. 'I made this presentation to amakhosi at the beginning of this year because we are really worried,' said Mdadane. He said councillors, as members of various political parties, had for years played their role in encouraging voters to register with the IEC. 'Now you need to be aware that, as much as we have a duty, you have a duty now to discourage people from deregistering as voters.' He said since the country's law allowed people to deregister as voters, 'so when they visit the office, we have no option but to adhere to their call if they want to deregister'. 'So, two or three people a day is not a small number, so the numbers are increasing daily,' said Mdadane. He said the local IEC office did not have the power to deregister voters. 'We interrogate a person, and with those reasons and ID copy that a person needs to provide to the office, we send that to the national office, which is the one that has the power to deregister a person from the voters roll. 'They are doing exactly that, and I am glad that the national office is now realising this and is also worried that the number of deregistrations in KZN is increasing daily,' he said. Mdadane was hoping the IEC national leaders would take the matter to the national legislature. Commenting on this, Thebolla, who is the ANC chairperson in the region, said this required the attention of the National Assembly 'because it is a crime to encourage people to register'.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Infortrend Debuts Infortrend Enterprise Cloud (IEC) Designed to Accelerate AI Transformation
TAIPEI, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Infortrend® Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495), a leading provider of enterprise storage and AI solutions, today announced the launch of the innovative Infortrend Enterprise Cloud (IEC), an all-in-one private cloud that empowers enterprises to accelerate AI initiatives across various applications and industries. IEC integrates computing, storage, and Kubernetes application management, providing a single platform for running cloud-native applications via containers and traditional enterprise applications via virtual machines. IEC supports cluster computing and scalability, ensuring seamless node expansion, uninterrupted service continuity, and increased performance as workloads grow. Powered by high-performance dual Intel Xeon Scalable or AMD EPYC 9004 CPUs, Nvidia GPUs, and U.2 NVMe SSDs, IEC provides an ideal solution for a wide range of AI applications, including resource-intensive generative AI workloads. While deploying AI-related applications using traditional servers is complex and time-consuming, IEC enables platform setup in under 30 minutes. Users can quickly launch applications using the built-in Application Market and seamlessly migrate existing enterprise applications. To accelerate multiple AI applications, IEC maximizes computing efficiency through automated resource balancing and GPU optimization, including GPU sharing, passthrough, and clustering with support for up to 80 GPUs across 20 nodes. Comprehensive data protection tools ensure continuous operations and safeguard against data loss. For growing data, IEC offers capacity expansion through external Infortrend storage solutions. IEC offers three compute node models with flexible GPU and U.2 NVMe SSD configurations to meet specific requirements. With these features, IEC empowers enterprises to drive faster, simpler AI transformation. "Many enterprises seek faster AI adoption, but complexity holds them back. IEC simplifies this journey, making AI more accessible. With powerful GPU optimization, it supports compute-intensive workloads like generative AI, HPC, and 3D rendering, while enabling faster AI-innovation across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and general IT," said Frank Lee, Senior Director of Product Planning at Infortrend Technology. Learn more about IEC About Infortrend Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user-friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more information, please visit Infortrend® and EonStor® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc.; other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View original content: SOURCE Infortrend Technology Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Indonesia Energy Provides Update on Operations and Reserves and Planned Drilling During the Remainder of 2025
JAKARTA, INDONESIA AND DANVILLE, CA, May 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indonesia Energy Corporation (NYSE American: INDO) ("IEC"), an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Indonesia, today provided an update on IEC's planned drilling activity for the second half of 2025. During 2024, IEC scaled back drilling activity at its Kruh Block asset and invested in seismic and other exploration work intended to maximize the prospects for new drilling. With that work now completed, new drilling is expected to commence at Kruh Block in the second half of 2025, as IEC plans to drill at least one new well this year as part of its multi-year program to drill 18 new wells at Kruh Block. In its recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F, IEC updated its proved gross reserves at Kruh Block, noting that IEC's proved reserves increased over 60% to approximately 3.3 million barrels as a result of the additional seismic and other work conducted in 2024 and the 5-year contract extension granted in late 2023 by the Indonesian government. Mr. Frank Ingriselli, IEC's President, commented "We are pleased that our investments in Kruh Block and the 3D seismic work we have now completed resulted in a 60% increase in our proved gross reserves (even without any additional drilling activity). After attending meetings with the technical and operating teams in Jakarta and meetings with the drilling and operating teams in Sumatra, we are finalizing the drilling plans for later this year. With a successful result from our next well, we are hopeful that a further increase in reserves will be forthcoming. We believe our seismic data in hand will make our drilling even more effective and help us maximize the returns from this important asset' More information regarding IEC's planned drilling activities and reserve details for the Kruh Block and the Citarum Block can be found in IEC's Annual Report on Form 20-F which was filed last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is available on IEC's website at: About Indonesia Energy Corporation Limited Indonesia Energy Corporation Limited (NYSE American: INDO) is a publicly traded energy company engaged in the acquisition and development of strategic, high growth energy projects in Indonesia. IEC's principal assets are its Kruh Block (63,000 acres) located onshore on the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia and its Citarum Block (195,000 acres) located onshore on the Island of Java in Indonesia. IEC is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia and has a representative office in Danville, California. For more information on IEC, please visit Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release, and related statements of Indonesia Energy Corporation Limited ('IEC') and its representatives and partners that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Acts'). In particular, the words 'could,' "estimates," "believes," "hopes," "expects," "intends," 'on-track', "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Acts and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Acts. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. In this press release, forward-looking statements include, without imitation those related to IEC's future drilling plans at Kruh Block. While management has based any forward-looking statements contained herein on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of significant risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside of the IEC's control, that could cause actual results to materially and adversely differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not necessarily limited to, those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed on April 29, 2025, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies are of such documents are available on the SEC's website, and IEC's website at IEC undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law. Company Contact: Frank C. IngriselliPresident, Indonesia Energy Corporation
