Cargo vehicles that need to cross the Walayar check post have been facing delays at the check post for the last two days, and some companies here have not been able to ship the goods to overseas clients on time.
R. Rajesh Kumar, former president of Custom House and Steamer Agents’ Association of Coimbatore, told The Hindu on Friday that a cargo vehicle that left Coimbatore on Wednesday was cleared at the Walayar check post only on Friday morning.
There were reports that there was a long queue of vehicles waiting in the area, waiting for clearance.
“The situation cannot get worse,” he said.
Earlier, it used to take 20 minutes or 25 minutes for a cargo vehicle to be cleared at the check post. Now, it takes nearly 40 minutes.
The Kerala Government has introduced e-declaration and all the documents need to be verified for this.
Cargo has to be weighed and only one of the two machines was working. Companies importing goods are also unable to move the products from Kochi to Coimbatore because of the delays at the check post.
It is not just the cargo moving vehicles, but the common man is also affected by this, Mr. Rajesh Kumar said.
President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, R.R. Balasundharam, said that the Tamil Nadu and Kerala Governments should take measures to ensure speedy clearance at the Chavady and Walayar check posts.
The public using the road, and emergency services such as ambulances rushing patients to hospitals are affected because of the traffic snarls at the check posts. Though there is a green channel, vehicles take time to reach the counter. All the issues that result in vehicles waiting for long hours for clearances should be sorted out.
The loss because of the delay is Rs. 500 crore to Rs. 1,000 crore a day and exporters in the region who are using the Kochi port are hit by the delays, he said.
