Businessmen have complained that for the past two months, trains arriving at the Sirsia Dry Port in Birgunj from Visakhapatnam, Haldia, and Kolkata ports have been arriving late, and that the Indian Railways itself has been providing fewer racks for Nepal.
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Industrialists and businessmen have complained that Nepal's import-export trade is being affected due to the shortage of railway racks provided by Indian Railways to Nepal and delays in the railway route.
Madhav Rajpal, Senior Vice President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that for the past two months, trains arriving at the Sirsia Dry Port in Birgunj from Visakhapatnam, Haldia and Kolkata ports have been delayed and the problem of Indian Railways providing fewer racks for Nepal has reached its peak.
‘This problem has been increasing continuously for the past two months and has now reached its peak,’ he said. ‘On Sunday, the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry has written to the GM of Indian Railways and the Consul General of the Nepali Consulate General in Kolkata, requesting them to resolve this problem immediately.’
Normally, it takes a maximum of three days for a container-carrying railway rack to reach the Sirsia Dry Port in Birgunj from Kolkata and Haldia ports and a maximum of five days from Visakhapatnam port, but currently, trains leaving for Birgunj from these ports are taking five to 25 days to reach Birgunj, he said.
With the railway schedule being disrupted in this way, the usefulness of the goods and industrial raw materials imported by Nepali importers has started to end, he complained. ‘Goods imported from third countries targeting festivals like Dashain-Tihar have started arriving after the festivals,’ he said. ‘In such a situation, those goods and raw materials of industrialists and businessmen become useless, and the products produced do not find the same market as during the festivals.’
In the past, there have been delays in providing railway racks to Nepal and even delays in the railway track due to reasons such as Durga Puja in Kolkata, elections in Bihar, the impact of the monsoon, etc. However, currently, the arrival of railway racks coming to Nepal has been badly affected as the Indian Railways is carrying out repairs and maintenance of railway lines at various places.
Rajiv Mohan Jha, CEO of Sirsia Dry Port Operating Company Pristine, says that he is unaware of the problems in India’s railway service. "We only handle containers and bulk cargo arriving by rail in Birgunj," he said, adding, "We are also unaware of the problems in India."
