LAHORE: Trade between India and Pakistan through the only Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Wagah-Attari border has come to a halt after labourers on Indian side went on strike over payment issues, officials said on Wednesday.
“Wage-wary coolies (loading, unloading labourers) refused to work and blockaded the passage of trucks carrying Pakistani gypsum after Indian authorities withdrew charges on consignments that did not involve physical/manual handling,” Customs personnel at Wagah told The News.
“More than 4 kilometers long queues of trucks can be seen on the GT Road on Pakistan side, while situation on Indian side is no different except for the fact that lines of vehicles awaiting entry are somewhat shorter.”
Custom officials added that the Indian labourers were not happy with the official revision of charges issued on September 11, 2017.
“Centre Warehousing Corporation (CWC), appointed as custodian of the ICP by the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), stated that no handling tariff would be charged against the loose cargo (gypsum) that arrives in the vehicles fitted with hydraulic unloading system,” the officials said, quoting a circular issued by Indian authorities said.
They added that similarly, there will be no handling charges in case of trucks being exported directly where no customs examination was required. “When the labourers learned about the circular, which took effect from September 11, they stopped loading, unloading the consignments from midday of September 9 after failures of their negotiations with the Centre Warehousing Corporation,” another official said.
Amin Bhatti, a gypsum exporter from Pakistan, said the importers were paying almost Rs60 per ton on the import of gypsum as labour handling charges, but it did not involve any labor. “Gypsum is transported to the ICP in hydraulic dumpers. The drivers dump it at importers’ designated place in the Integrated Check Post,” said Bhatti.
It must be mentioned that importers have been paying almost Rs2300 to Rs2400 per dumper since 2012. The Indian importers believed that it was injustice to pay handling charges on gypsum.
Their demand was accepted after long lobbying and justifying their case. The custom officials disclosed that Indian labourers laid down in front of gypsum dumpers on September 9 and stopped the trade adversely affecting Pakistani exports to India through only land route for bilateral trade.
“Currently, trade via Wagah-Attari border is in favor of Pakistan since the strict implementation of quarantine regulations on import consignment,” an official said.
In terms of vehicles, presently Pakistan’s export to India via land route stands at almost 150 to 200 trucks mainly carrying gypsum, cement and dry dates, while imports from India have reduced to around 15 to 20 trucks only since import of vegetables, soybean and cotton was almost finished after implementation of quarantine regulations.
The trade impasse is also a cause of concern for the Indian importers. Rajdeep Uppal, an importer from India, said that consignments worth almost Rs300 crore were stuck across the borders.
“The Land Ports Authority of India and the CWC are unable to resolve the matter,” Uppal said. Aftab Vohra, convener of Standing Committee on Bilateral Indo-Pak Trade in Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the issue is likely to be resolved in a day or two.
“Our counterparts in India are in negotiations with the Centre Warehousing Corporation and labourers to resolve the matter amicably”, Vohra said. Anil Mehra, president of Federation of Dry Fruit and Karyana Commercial Association in India said almost 2,000 handlers work at the ICP.
“Previously they were overseen by the customs department but later came under the Centre Warehousing Corporation after the operationalisation of the Integrated Check Post ,” Mehra informed The News.
He said the problem could be resolved once and for all if the labourers were made a customs issue instead of Centre Warehousing Corporation’s, which was relatively lenient in its approach.
