October 10: Importers have been facing problems since the past five years due to the government’s failure in managing dusty cargo at the Birgunj border. Nepali importers are facing further problems after the Indian customs issued a notice stating that all imports and exports through the Raxaul-Birgunj border crossing will be done through the Integrated Checkpoint (ICP) from October 16.

The notice issued by the Patna-based office of Indian customs mentions that there will be no import or export through Raxaul Customs. A notification has been issued to divert all imports and exports of this border check point to the ICP.

The public notice issued by the Indian customs on October 7 has urged all concerned bodies not to prepare shipping bills, bills of entry and other documents for Raxaul Customs from this Wednesday itself. The Indian customs issued the notice saying that all the imports and exports of the Birgunj-Raxaul border should be done through the ICP on the pretext that the ICP has come into full operation.

However, Nepali importers are facing additional burden due to the lack of a suitable location for dusty cargo management on the Nepal side. Earlier, the import of dusty cargo faced stiff opposition from the local residents of Raxaul who complained of pollution.

As a result, the loading and unloading of clinker was banned in Raxaul five years ago due to the obstruction of the locals.

At that time, a team led by the then joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Ravi Shankar Sainju, had suggested managing such cargo at three different locations in Birgunj. Since then, the Indian customs has repeatedly given ultimatums to remove the dusty cargo from Raxaul. However, the government has not yet been able to provide an alternative.

With this notification from Indian customs, the issue of dusty cargo management has become challenging again. It has added stress to importers, says Madhav Rajpal, vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry. .

In the last four years since the ICP started operation, most of the imports and exports have been taking place through this integrated infrastructure. However, dusty cargo such as coal, iron ore, slag and some quantity of industrial raw materials including iron blades, iron roll, etc. have been entering Nepal through the Raxaul-Birgunj friendship bridge.