January 25: Transport entrepreneurs have started an “unannounced syndicate” at Birgunj Dry Port. The transport entrepreneurs involved in transporting goods to the Birgunj-Pathlaiya Industrial Corridor have started the syndicate by increasing the transportation cost.

Industrialists in the corridor complained that the transport entrepreneurs have been taking turns to transport goods at increased rate.

General Secretary of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce Madhav Rajpal said that the transportation cost has gone up after the transport entrepreneurs started taking turns to deliver goods.

The transport entrepreneurs have started charging as much as Rs 4,000 extra for transporting goods to Parwanipur, Jitpur and Simara from the dry port.

Earlier, they used to charge Rs 8,000 for transporting 22 metric tons of good in a 20-feet container. But the charge has been increased to Rs 10,000 for transporting goods to Jitpur and Rs 12,000 up to Simara.

More than a dozen transport entrepreneurs have issued notices regarding the new fare. They have already started charging additional fare from last week.

The transport entrepreneurs have also informed that they would charge an additional Rs 2,000 if the goods are not unloaded till 5 pm the next day after customs clearance.

Indian companies transport Nepal-bound goods from overseas to the dry port via Indian ports through railway line. Those goods are then transported to the respective industries through truck.

Ashok Kumar Temani, former chairman of the Transport and Transshipment Committee of FNCCI, confirmed that the transport entrepreneurs have increased fare in collusion with each other.

“The cost of production is sure to increase due to the unlawful move of the transport entrepreneurs,” said Temani.

“The government must take strict action against such syndicate that is flourishing behind the mask of business,” he added.

On the other hand, transport entrepreneurs say that they are trying to fix a uniform rate which had been fluctuating due to unhealthy competition among themselves. They say that their business was on the verge of collapse due to unhealthy competition and they had been incurring loss. This is an attempt to regulate the charge, according to the transport entrepreneurs.

One of the transport entrepreneurs Shyam Singh Prasad Patel said that the industrialists were mum while the transportation charge was Rs 4000 to Rs 5000 since one year but now they cry foul.

“Transport entrepreneurs have been delivering goods by incurring losses since one year. They were silent during that time. Now, we have decided to take turns to deliver goods because our business is at stake,” said Patel.