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Truckers using the Petrapole-Benapole checkpoint are rejoicing as the waiting time in the crucial India and Bangladesh border has reduced drastically. This is thanks to the West Bengal government starting the online slot booking of vehicles through “Suvidha” – Vehicles Facilitation System – to facilitate export through the border in North 24 Parganas district. This has reduced the detention period of trucks to near zero days.
The portal was created in coordination with the Land Ports Authority of India, Customs department and the Border Security Force (BSF) for quick clearance and smooth movement of vehicles at Petrapole.
New initiative
Alok Chatterjee, organising secretary of Truck Owners’ Association of Bengal says that truck movement through the Petrapole - Benapole border has been happening very “smoothly” over the last 15-20 days backed by the new initiative. “Earlier the detention period for majority of the trucks was 20-25 days leading to huge expenses for exporters and acting as a deterrent to trade. But since this online slot booking of vehicles has started, the detention period has come down to near zero,” Chatterjee told BusinessLine.
Around 300 trucks could pass through the Petrapole-Benapole border daily but nearly 3,000 were waiting near the border due to the long detention period, he added.
“The average daily cost incurred by a truck due to detention ranged between ₹1,500 and ₹2,000,” said Karthik Chakraborty, General Secretary of C&F Staff Welfare Association in Petrapole.
How does it work?
The trial movement of chassis of vehicles across the border through online slot booking was started in July end this year while truck movements started much later around the first week of August.
Information available on the Suvidha website says that once registered with this portal, all sorts of facilitations for smooth movement and clearances with concerned agencies shall be ensured in a time bound manner. In case of any issue faced by the user, a round the clock control room with a dedicated helpline has been opened to provide quick redressal of those issues.
Exporters can avail online slot booking against a fee of ₹10,000 for loaded trucks and ₹5,000 for chassis vehicles or unloaded trucks at present. This service is currently open for export of all kinds except perishable goods through Petrapole port. However, the same would soon be extended to all other ports including Ghojadanga, Hili, Mahadipur and Changrabandha.
“Exports to Bangladesh typically start picking up post Durga Puja, that is, from October and till March. While currently things are looking a lot easier in terms of truck movement, we will get a better understanding of the situation only at that time when overall traffic increases,” he said.
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