July 31: Nepali entrepreneurs have drawn the attention of the Indian Railways authorities regarding the problems they are facing due to the mismanagement on part of the railway operator.

A delegation of Nepali businesspersons led by Birgunj Chamber of Commerce Secretary Madhav Rajpal met with the Indian Railways officials of Samastipur and requested them for proper management of the railway yard at Raxaul. According to the Nepali delegation, they have been facing lots of problems due to insufficient and dilapidated infrastructure of Raxaul railway yard, excessive jam, exorbitant fine and band condition of road.

They requested the railways authorities to make improvement in the overall management during a field visit of  regional railway manager Rabindra Kumar Jain to Raxaul. Rajpal handed a memorandum on behalf of the Nepali entrepreneurs to Jain. They informed the railways authorities that the import of goods through Raxaul has increased a lot in the recent years but the capacity of the railway yard remains the same. On top of it, the Indian Railways has been imposing heavy fine after the goods started getting stocked in the railway yard. Nepali businessmen have been incurring millions of rupees in fine since the Indian railways introduced 24-hour load-unload provision and also hiked the fine six times.

Indian Railways has asked the Nepali businessmen to clear their goods within 24 hours saying that the stockpile of goods have caused congestion in the railway yard. But the customs points of both Birgunj and Raxaul remain closed during night. In addition to it, the Nepali entrepreneurs cannot clear the goods in time because it is difficult to find labourers during odd hours.

“We have asked the Indian Rrailways authorities to take back the 24-hour deadline to clear goods. They said they will seek solution to the problem,” said Rajpal.

A year ago, the railway yard used to remain open round the clock. The time given to unload goods is normally nine hours and an additional 12 hours is given to clear the goods. Until recent, the fine for keeping goods there for more than the stipulated time was Rs 150 per wagon but that amount has been increased six times now.