COMMENTARY
INTERVIEWS
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

Himalayan Blunder: A trade transit passage goes awry

The dusty sign post, leaning precariously against a fence, warns ''heavy traffic zone''.

But all that is seen on the narrow undulating road that snakes through stretches of paddy fields is an occasional bullock cart or the twice-a-day public bus.

The new 43-km trade route opened through a treaty between India and Nepal to enable the Himalayan kingdom to use the Bangladesh ports through India remains desolate. It is shunned by traders who still prefer to use the conventional Calcutta Port.

Lack of infrastructural facilities, harassment by officials and sub-standard arrangements at Bangladesh harbours keeps away the toughest of traders reducing to mere mockery the road sign that reads ''Nepal trade transit. Warning: heavy traffic zone.''

The trade corridor from Kakarbitta border post of Nepal to Hili in north Bengal-Bangladesh border, opened with fanfare during the tenure of I K Gujral, who had promised to provide the Himalayan kingdom's burgeoning imports demand a ''second avenue''. But speak to the traders and they will tell you that Calcutta port still remains the only option.

The hassles of using the new route are far too many. Moreover, most of the kinds of goods imported do not benefit from this route,'' says M A Badani, the liaison representative of the Nepal importers and exporters. The biggest probelm is that there are no regular vessels leaving any of the Bengal harbours, he adds.

Though trading through this route was touted as more economical and convenient, in actual practice, it was found to have a fair share of problems. The huge expenses incurred is the main deterrent. Says Badani: ''Previously the Indian government had permitted trade on this route twice a week, on Saturday and Sunday. This was increased to four days a week after the Nepal finance minister recently met his Indian counterpart.

''But that has hardly helped in clearing the huge backlog of consignment awaiting clearance on the Indo-Bangla border and the more we have to wait the more is the expense like container detention charge which works out to $ 14 a day per container besides the substantial port charge, if the consignment is stuck at the port.''

Not that the Calcutta port offers any welcome respite. The Indo-Nepal treaty, which allows the landlocked state the use of the port, is a much-abhorred document among the importers.

''The language of the treaty is ambiguous and confusing, thus forcing us to be at the mercy of the Calcutta customs. For instance, it does not define a 'sensitive cargo'. We have to go by their definition and can not even challenge it,'' claims Mahendra Duggar, general secretary of the Nepal cargo handling agents.

Primary among the many complaints of the traders is the ''delaying tactics'' of the customs officials who would rather have the so-called sensitive goods transported by rail to the border with escort than allow ferrying by road, says G P Pokhrail of Nepal transit and warehousing company. ''This again causes unnecessary delay and expenditure as we have to pay for the rail transport and the customs escorts. But the treaty nowhere has any provision for directing the goods by rail or have escorts accompany the consignments.''

While Calcutta Port remained Nepal's only convenient avenue for foreign trade, the operators have had to put up with the Calcutta customs' shut-up-or-pack-up policy. Under such circumstances, the Bangladesh ports at first seemed to be a harbinger of hope. But slowly optimism gave way to the stark reality of infrastructural inadequacies in India and ''sub-standard'' port facilities in the Bangladeshi harbours, enough to discourage the toughest of the import-exporters.

A major portion of the 43-km-long road is unservicable. During the monsoon, it almost becomes unmotorable as the gaping potholes and ditches fill up with water and muck. A stretch that should not take more than an hour to cover actually at times takes over three hours to traverse.

Such multiple deterrents force the operators to stick to Calcutta port, whose earnings from Nepal were on the rise.

But the same cannot be said of the Calcutta customs which had hoped to earn higher revenues once the new route became operational. Expectations were that a higher volume of trade would mean higher income for the customs. But statistics speak otherwise. The volume of Nepal's trade through Bangladesh is 1:30 compared to Calcutta Port, informs Badani.

However, be it the Calcutta Port or its Chittagong counterpart, Nepali users hold it against the Calcutta customs. But assistant collector of customs (Nepal unit) Sikha Mondol defends, saying ''a majority of bulk imports of Nepal are commodities that can find no market there by any means''.

For example, the quantity of import of raw silk, betelnut and poppy seed is hardly in keeping with the market for these items there. Where does the extra go? ''Then again in case of motor spares, Nepal's imports are inconsistent with its market,'' she said.

Mondal elaborates, ''All the surplus, and in some cases items like gold and electronic goods, the whole of it, is smuggled back to India. We have to be careful. We make it a point to escort sensitive cargo to the border to prevent any trade-off here itself. Once the consignment crosses the border, it is up to the border security force and the likes to stop smuggling.''

She says a chunk of the importers of Nepal indulge in smuggling behind the facade of an import-export business.

Not that the traders deny all this, says Badani. ''This menace is there, but not all are involved. Moreover, this goes on in connivance with Indian officials, many of whom reap direct benefits. We are also concerned about the evil reputation these elements bring to the fraternity.''

Perhaps, keeping all this in mind and much more, the Nepalese Chamber of Commerce has suggested several modifications to the Indo-Nepal treaty and forwarded them to their government for taking up with India. However, whether these are accepted or not remains to be seen as also does the efficacy of a modified treaty.

UNI