Rs 1.1-crore goods damaged in rain at ICP, importers cry foul

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 30

Two truckloads of cement and two of dried date palm and carom seeds imported from Pakistan were damaged in sudden showers at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari yesterday. The importers suffered a loss of Rs 1.1 crore.

Importers who brought in two truckloads of dried date palm and carom seeds suffered a loss of Rs 50 lakh each. The firms from Indore and Bhopal that imported two truckloads of cement suffered a loss of Rs 10 lakh. A total of 2,800 bags of cement were damaged.

The All-India Cement Importers’ Association has accused the Integrated Check Post (ICP) authorities of gross negligence and demanded compensation for the losses. President of the association MPS Chatha said the consignment arrived around 2 pm at the ICP. He alleged the cement consignment that was unloaded in the open got damaged in the rain.

He said importers paid fee to the Central Warehousing Corporation that handled the loading, unloading of the imported goods at the ICP. He further said at present, they paid demurrage charges to stock imports from Pakistan at the rate of 20 paisa per day per bag for the first two days and Rs 2.50 per bag from the third day onwards. Besides this, the handling charges of Rs 7.50 per bag were charged, he said.

“The ICP authorities did not bother to cover the consignment. It is a pity that the ICP charges us fee, but does not handle the consignment responsibly. In April last year, around 25,000 bags of cement got damaged in rain. I was compensated only after I threatened to sue the authorities,” Chatha added.