GovTwin / Institution

Sharsha (Jessore)

Local Gov

The border upazila that contains the Benapole land port, Bangladesh's busiest road gateway to India and the spine of the regional trade corridor.

Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.

Problems and issues

1. governance As the home of the Benapole land port, the upazila concentrates cross-border trade, congestion and smuggling pressures, with port and corridor capacity strained by heavy freight throughput. So what: Trade-corridor bottlenecks and informal flows burden the local economy and enforcement. Source: Bangladesh Land Port Authority
2. urbanization Built-up surface is expanding along the Benapole corridor, converting farmland and straining drainage and services around the port town. So what: Corridor sprawl overloads local drainage and infrastructure. Source: Local Government Engineering Department (LGED)
3. air quality Dense freight traffic, brick kilns and dust along the cross-border route load the air with vehicle emissions and aerosols through the dry season. So what: The port corridor concentrates poor dry-season air. Source: Department of Environment

Probable solutions

• Strengthen land-port capacity, trade facilitation and smuggling controls along the Benapole corridor. Responsible: Bangladesh Land Port Authority · policy proposal
• Enforce a structure plan and drainage master plan for the Benapole growth corridor, directing built-up expansion away from low-lying floodplains. Responsible: Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) · policy proposal