April 24: The industrialists of Bara-Parsa have urged the government to declare the Birgunj-Pathlaiya corridor as an “Industrial Corridor”. They made such a request to Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal in the federal capital Kathmandu on Sunday. 

Industrialists reached the federal capital with their problems and suggestions to solve those problems. Anil Kumar Agrawal, president of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce, said that the industrial establishments have been deprived of the facilities provided by the government due to the lack of declaration of the corridor.

“Therefore, we demand that the government declare the corridor immediately,” he said.

Minister Rijal said that the government is ready to make the largest Bara-Parsa Corridor an industrial corridor with standards and assured that the process will be carried out by fast track. During the discussion with the minister and departmental heads, the necessary process to create the corridor was also discussed.

Agrawal claimed that despite the physical infrastructure such as the first dry port and integrated check post in this area, it is difficult to attract investments due to the lack of declaration of industrial corridor. The industrialists complained to the minister that the local governments are forcing them to pay property tax.

Collaboration will also be done to control Sirsia River pollution, which has been the cause of disputes between the industry and locals of the corridor for the past four decades. The officials of the chamber complained that the industry is punished in the name of pollution control. They also drew the government's attention to the management of waste water coming out of the industries.

The demand for industrial drain, water treatment plant and dumping site was put forward by industrialists. Madhav Rajpal, vice president of the chamber, said that it was suggested that the pollution control campaign of the Sirsia river flowing through the corridor should also be carried out in this package.

To control the pollution of the Sirsia River, cooperation between the local government and the private sector is needed and the Ministry of Industry will facilitate the detailed study process for that.

As the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) constructed in Bara's Simara failed to operated properly, the chamber demand that the rent of land in SEZ should be reduced, the mandatory export regulations should be removed. They also demanded more land management for new industries in Bara Parsa area.

The industrialists demanded that the customs duty of Rs 1,000 per ton, which is currently charged for the import of raw material of cement, should be reduced to Rs 100.

Similarly, in a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha, the industrialists expressed their displeasure over the removal of the Industrial Security Force of the Armed Police for security arrangements in industrial establishments.

Hari Gautam, the senior vice-president who accompanied the delegation said, “With the abolition of the Industrial Security Force, security-related problems have increased. As the local administration has to run the overall administration of the district, industrial safety is not a priority for them. It is necessary to re-establish the Industrial Security Force.”

The industrialists also complained that the Nepal Electricity Authority has been cutting power for 8/9 hours daily without notice and this affected the production of the industries. They have demanded to arrange regular electricity supply.