Calcutta:
Cargo shipped from other countries to Calcutta and then sent by road to Nepal is now being tracked by the customs authorities with GPS to ensure the containers do not go missing on the way.
As part of a pilot project which started on Wednesday, the customs authorities are using the GPS-enabled electronic cargo tracking system to lock Nepal-bound containers at the Calcutta ports.
“Cargo containers from India cross over to Nepal from Raxaul, Jogbani and Sanauli. While Raxaul and Jogbani are in Bihar, Sanauli is in Uttar Pradesh. Now, we can track a container’s journey to any of the three border points from a port. The tracker will help us know whether a container has deviated from the route or stopped midway and for how long,” a customs official said on Friday.
At the border points, Indian customs officials remove the device. A report is immediately generated containing all details of the trip.
“Importers and exporters can track the movement, too, with this system. This will increase transparency as well as make documentation less complicated,” the official said.
Three containers bound for Nepal were sealed with the new tracking system at Kidderpore and Garden Reach ports on Wednesday.
India and Nepal had signed a memorandum of intent in 2017 to introduce the tracking system.
Surrounded by land on all sides, Nepal’s import cargo from across the world are shipped to Calcutta, Haldia or Visakhapatnam.
However, because of its proximity to Nepal, bulk of Nepal’s cargo is shipped to the ports in Bengal.
Nepal imports items from pulses to helicopters, most of which are shipped to Kidderpore, Garden Reach and Haldia. Other items it imports include electronic goods, plastic granules, machineries, coal, urea and food products such as black pepper and noodles.
Customs officials said around 1,500 containers carried cargo from Kidderpore and Garden Reach on an average every week.
Officials said there had been a few occasions when the containers went missing on the way to the border.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Special Correspondent / April 21st, 2018