During the seven-day Durga Puja festival, an important Hindu religious celebration, export and import between India and Bangladesh through Dinajpur's Hili land port will be halted.
The Hili Land Port Import-Export Group's general secretary, Md Mostafizur Rahman, said that trade activity would be suspended from 19 to 25 October, local Bangladeshi media reports.
He added that they made the decision after a discussion with traders from both countries. "The import-export through the land port will resume in full swing from October 26 after the Puja celebration".
Sheikh Ashraful, the officer in charge of the Hili immigration check-post, said that while business operations will be paused for the week-long vacation, the immigration process will proceed as usual.
Therefore, he continued, at this time, cross-border transit will continue through the land port's immigration checkpoint.
Local businesses will be able to discharge their imported goods by paying customs during the break, except on 24 October, because it will be a public holiday for Durga Puja, according to Md Bayezid, deputy commissioner of the Hili Land Customs Station.
India is Bangladesh's second-largest trading partner after China, with a $16 billion trade volume. The launch of bilateral trade in Indian rupees by India and Bangladesh at the beginning of September was hailed as a "landmark" agreement by the two governments.
Since July of last year, when its central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), made it possible for foreign trade to be settled in rupees, India has been working to further internationalise the rupee. So far, 18 nations have established bilateral trade agreements in the currency with India, including powerful economies like Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany.