Dhaka Times Report. In recent times there has been an increase in the enthusiasm for railway passenger transport. On the other hand, due to various problems in the transportation of goods, traders are losing interest, according to a source.
It is known that there is an extreme disagreement between Railways and Chittagong Port Authority regarding the management of Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD). Disagreement between the two ministries over the distribution and control of the income of the ICD is seriously disrupting the movement of goods. Traders are suffering losses as goods are stuck for months. Due to deadlock, mismanagement and corruption in the activities of ICD, traders are increasingly reluctant to transport goods by rail. Many traders are now transporting goods by land rather than by rail. Even though the 14-year contract between the two parties was extended by one year, there was a dispute over signing a new contract. On November 27, 2011 in the inter-ministerial meeting in the presence of the Minister of Communications and Minister of Shipping, the concerned officials of the two ministries signed a new draft agreement with the Chittagong Port Authority for 10 years (2012-2022). However, the Ministry of Railways did not sign the final agreement due to a dispute over shares. Although the Ministry of Railways did not sign, the Chittagong Port Authority is managing the Kamalapur ICD from January this year. News source.
It is known that in 1996, the Ministry of Railways signed a 14-year contract with the Port Authority. When the contract expired in 2010, it was extended by one year. At the end of this agreement, the Railways was to manage the Kamalapur ICD alone. The concerned officials of the Ministry of Railways say that the port authorities are currently operating the ICD unethically. Railways is supposed to get 75 to 85 percent of ICD's dividend, not 50 percent. They said the railway ministry can handle it alone. This will reduce the losses of the railways, as well as increase the employment and revenue. Kamalapur ICD is established on railway's own land. ICD office, warehouse, electrical and all other facilities are also property of Railways. The existing rate of revenue sharing is not at all favorable to the Railways, rather depriving them of their fair share.
It should be noted that in the 1996 agreement, railways got 65 percent of the revenue excluding all expenses. Port authority got the remaining 45 percent. According to the 2012 agreement, the railways will get 50 percent of the remaining revenue excluding all expenses. A senior railway official, who did not want to be named, said that this is unacceptable. He said that as the railway ministry has been formed, the accountability has increased in the railways, and the officials and employees have also become active in showing efficiency. It is possible to cancel this agreement and manage the ICD with railway officials and employees. This will increase the revenue of the railways by crores of rupees. Questions have been raised as to why former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain and Naval Minister Shahjahan Khan signed a new 10-year contract with 15 percent less money.
It is known that due to irregularities in the ICD, the transportation of goods is taking a long time. Goods which earlier could be transported in 10 hours now take 20 to 25 hours. Sometimes it takes 30 to 35 hours. To send a container full of goods from Dhaka to Chittagong, the railway has to pay 3 to 6 thousand rupees. On the other hand, one has to pay 15 to 20 thousand taka to raise or lower a container in ICD. According to a source, due to extreme irregularities, the rapid movement of containers from the port is being disrupted. Besides, traders start suffering when the goods reach the ICD. They are upset in many ways. Velmets involved in lifting and lowering containers often have problems. Of course, if you give money, everything will be fixed quickly. According to related sources, it took 7 to 10 days to bring goods from Chittagong port to Dhaka. But now it takes more than double time. Due to mismanagement traders are now transporting goods by land instead of rail.
DTM Ahmedul Karim Chowdhury working in Kamalapur ICD said that there is no corruption or irregularity in ICD. However, due to lack of final signature of the Railways on the new 10-year contract, there is some complication between the two ministries. There has been a misunderstanding between the two parties. He said that due to shortage of wagons and engines, it is not possible to operate two trains daily on the Dhaka-Chittagong route. As a result, there is a jam of containers loaded with imported goods at the Chittagong end and empty containers at the Dhaka end. Besides, users especially exporters of ready-made garments are losing confidence in ICD due to inability to maintain specific schedule of train movement i.e. lack of guaranteed service. He said that the port authorities are working in this ICD with the spirit of service and not in the hope of profit.
Railway Director General Engineer Md. Abu Taher said that in the previous contract, 65 percent of the money was received by the railways. In the new contract, 50 percent of the money is said to be given to the railways. Railways will take everything according to its share. Railways is not signing the final agreement as the share sharing is unreasonable. An inter-ministerial letter has been sent regarding this.
The matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Otherwise, the revenue of the railways will decrease as well as one of the sources of revenue of the railways will be lost, experts feel.
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