India while signing RSA seven years ago had committed to revise the agreement by 2009, allowing its railway system to ferry all forms of cargo from Kolkata and other ports and also Indian industrial hubs, up to the ICD. [break]
However, India´s apathy has prevented Nepal from transporting goods in bulk and hoodless containers. This has hindered ICD manager - Himalayan Terminal - from operating loose goods, liquid goods and refrigerated goods.
As a result, Himlayan Terminal is forced to limit its transportation services to wagon containers and closed-box racks only. This has severely constrained the effectiveness of ICD and in turn failed to cut cost of transit transportation by over 25 percent as targetted.
“India´s indifference to revise RSA has compelled Nepali traders to pay tens of millions of rupee in demurrage to the port authorities in Kolkata every year due to delay in clearing goods from the port -- just because RSA does not allow shipment of bulk quantity of goods from the port to Nepal,” said a source.
Going by RSA, the two sides were supposed to have undertaken ´comprehensive revision´ of provisions of the pact after five years of agreement.
Accordingly, Nepal pushed for its revision in November 2009 as well, categorically requesting India to allow Nepal to transport goods in bulk containers and hoodless containers so that unpacked goods like clinkers and coals, liquid goods like edible and other oils, and refrigerated goods could be ferried by the railway.
“The Indian side then agreed to sit for talks within six months in Kathmandu. But we have not yet received any response from India in this regard despite our repeated requests,” said Sarad Bikram Rana, Executive Director of Nepal Inter-model Transport Development Board (NITDB).
Existing clauses of RSA gives permission to shipment of goods in wagon containers and closed-box container of the railway to Nepal.
Capacity utilization of Birgunj Dry Port - where more than 80 percent of imports comes through railway - is in the lowest ebb as there is no provision of allowing bulk cargo without fresh revision in RSA.
“Capacity utilization of Birgunj Dry Port is very low. Also, our traders have been losing tens of thousands of rupees every year in demurrage to Kolkata port authority,” said Rana.
Apart from the full-fledged cargo services, Nepal has also been pushing India to allow railway cargo movements to all ICDs, instead of limiting it to Birgunj-based ICD only. In the transit arrangement under RSA, India has agreed to allow Nepal import goods from Kolkata and Haldiya ports to Biratnagar and ICD in Birgunj.
“Our demand is: Allow containerized railway cargoes to move to any ICDs or Integrated Customs Point (ICP) of Nepal from agreed ports of India,” said Rana.
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