PA fears congestion on cargo movement curbs

  Pankaj Dastider

Chattogram Port is feared to face congestion of cargo and containers during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha due to restrictions.

The curbs were imposed on the movement of cargo transports before and after the festival to facilitate passenger transports.

If the restrictions are enforced strictly prohibiting flow of cargo

delivery to their destinations, the port will face severe congestion
of cargo, ships and containers during and after the Eid.

 Slow delivery from the port against continued cargo handling

operations will lead to the situation, businesses and port officials
said.

Concerned business circles said the Roads and Highways authority had imposed a restriction on movement of cargo carrying transports from the Port on the Dhaka-Chattogram and other highways three days before and after the Eid day.

The restriction will cause disruption in the delivery of import cargo,shipment of export and obstruction in the loading and unloading of the containerised and bulk cargoes. Port activities need to be continued during those days to ensure production in factories.

Businesses have alleged that the highway authority has relaxed the restriction and allowed the transports carrying readymade garments and perishable goods to ply the roads.

But the law enforcement personnel on duty on the roads are still

opposing movement of trucks and covered vans on the plea of
restrictions.

They said they had requested the Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to convey grievances of the businesses, especially the problems of export of the RMG and perishable goods following the relaxation came.

 "This problem needs to be addressed in coordination with the official of the Ministry of Home and Road Transport authorities. We urge the home minister to realise the situation and instruct the field level police members to allow movement of ready-made garments (RMG) and perishable goods on the road," said Off-dock Owners' Association  president Nurul Quayyum Khan, when contacted over his cell phone.

He said that the importers and exporters faced a lot of trouble and
financial loss in their business, especially in the shipment of cargo
over the last few weeks due to road blockade by agitating students for road safety and then by transport strike throughout the country.

 "The vested groups also wanted to disrupt the economy by interfering in the reasonable movement of the students following murder of two college students by killer bus driver in Dhaka," he said.

Commenting on the plight of the Port Connecting Road the BICDA
president said they handle 100 per cent export cargo of the port but the exporters are suffering setback because the PC Road, the major thoroughfare of export and import cargo transportation, remains in utterly dilapidated condition for several months.

 The Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) is renovating the road and developing its drainage system.

NQ Khan, also owner of the QNS Container Services in the Chittagong EPZ and a CIP, said the CCC started the work more than six months ago but the contractor's work is so slow that there is no visible progress of work on the road.

He said that he had written to the city Mayor on July 11 requesting
 him to expedite the work because the exports and imports are suffering  a lot for a long time.
The work is going on at a snail's pace and the transport operators,
left with little alternative, are still using one side of the road at
the highest risk of meeting road accidents every now and then, he
concluded.

Concerned sources said huge pressure is mounting on the
Tigerpass-Akbar Shah Zakir Hossain Road via Ambagan and Pahartali Police Beat which is the internal road of Bangladesh Railway (BR) but is being used as alternative to the PC Road.

 CCC renovated the road in 2007 ahead of the T20 World Cup Cricket for smooth arrival and departure of the players to Sagorika Divisional Stadium as an alternative road for the international tournament.

Since then, the CCC has been looking after road and maintaining
regular renovation which is generally used for the smaller modes of transports. But recently this road is being used by the inter-district buses, cargo trucks, covered vans and even lorry.

Not only this road but also the DT Road (Dhaka Trunk Road) between Alangkar Intersection and Dewanhat in the city is being used trucks and buses which is generally used for the smaller vehicles in the past.

Long queue of buses, trucks and covered vans is the regular scene on the DT Road because of the bad shape of the Chittagong Port Connecting Road, an exclusive road for the port-bound transports.

As the transports carrying cargoes and containers from and to the

prime seaport of Chattogram face risk of accidents due to road digging and drain works of ongoing renovation by the CCC these transports are left with no option but to use the rather narrow Railway Internal Road and Dhaka Trunk Road.

Pahartali Railway Workshop officials said the Railway Road was blocked until the recent with bamboo barriers but it has been opened in the recent past for general use due to renovation work on the PC Road (Port Connecting Road).

A section of the vehicles also use the DT Road to enter and exit the
Port via Dhanialapara, Strand Road and Barik Building Square.
But these roads face regular traffic congestions and hampers
transportation of the export and import cargoes, said the port users and businesses in Chattogram.

 

Courtesy: The Financial Express Aug 21, 2018