Cargo train to Biratnagar yet to make 2nd trip after June inaugural

By Sashidhar Parajuli,Biratnagar, Dec. 26: It has been six months since Nepal welcomed the cargo train that arrived in Biratnagar from India. The train, carrying raw materials for Aarti Steels Pvt. Ltd., came at Biratnagar Customs on June 2 this year

Since it was jointly inaugurated with high importance by Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the former’s India visit, many hoped that the train would operate regularly between the two countries. But after that inaugural trip, the cargo rail never returned.

Local industrialists say that it is because of the weaknesses of the Nepali side when signing the railway route agreement with India. But the Biratnagar Customs Office says the rail has not come again because traders have not wanted to bring any goods through it.

On June 1, a day before the train service was inaugurated, the ministers for Industry, Commerce and Supplies from Nepal and India signed a bilateral trade agreement that purportedly stipulated that only chemical fertiliser, coal, clinker and cement could be brought to the Jogbani border point from the Kolkata port. "This route has been separated for bulk cargo. 

That is why traders have not been able to import goods by this train," Rakesh Surana, president of the Chamber of Industries, Morang, told The Rising Nepal. "We have not been able to utilise this train because we cannot bring raw materials and other items through this route."

But Gyanendra Raj Dhakal, chief of the Biratnagar Customs Office, flatly disagrees. "Nothing is stopping the cargo rail from coming to the integrated checkpoint at Biratnagar. 

The infrastructure is good and both we and the Jogbani officials are prepared to clear all goods that come through. So, how can anyone claim that the treaty has prevented them from bringing goods?" he questioned, claiming that businesses had not even booked the train.

"How will anything come without them even trying to book the train? We stand ready to facilitate the process and clear any hurdles," Dhakal said.

This reply seemed to frustrate Surana though. "We used to bring 90 per cent of our goods from the Kolkata port. But now, they have made it a bulk cargo-only route. So, how and why will we book the cargo rail from there? Our government signed the agreement without understanding its provisions," he criticised.

But Dhakal rejected the authenticity of the 90 per cent figure. "It is not accurate to say that 90 per cent of goods came from Kolkata. Many traders had already shifted to Vishakhapatnam and it is easier to import larger quantities from there."

It is worth noting that the cargo train brought items other than chemical fertiliser, coal, clinker and cement on its first trip. Also, Dhakal said that the bulk cargo provision only applied to materials imported from third countries and that raw materials of all kinds could be brought by the cargo rail if they originated in India. 

Nevertheless, Dhakal said that they had written to higher authorities to address the industrialists' concerns three months ago. "But the present provisions do not stop them from using the cargo train."