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2,000 factories remain shut due to Tarai unrest
Around 2,000 factories in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have shut down as their shipments of raw materials have been cut off by political turmoil in the region.Around 2,000 factories in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have shut down as their shipments of raw materials have been cut off by political turmoil in the region. A shortage of fuel, in particular, has made it impossible for the factories to stay in operation.
According to Pradeep Kaderiya, the president of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, most of the factories in the area have pulled down their shutters. Those still open are operating below capacity. Kaderiya said the ongoing unrest had impacted as many as 50,000 workers.
The unavailability of transportation has also prevented traders from shipping finished products to market. The factories are reporting daily losses of Rs500 million to Rs600 million. “We have already sustained losses totalling Rs23 billion,” Kaderiya said. With business activities coming to a halt, commercial banks operating in the region are beginning to suffer too. They have been sitting idle as nobody has been coming for services like letter of credit (LC), draft and TT.
Traders whose consignments from third countries have reached Kolkata port don’t know what to do as the blockade has left their goods stranded. The queue of loaded trucks waiting to enter Nepal at Raxaul extends more than 25 km, according to Kaderiya.
The interruption in the flow of goods has hit the collection of revenue at the customs office. The Birgunj Customs Office, which was given a revenue collection target of Rs7.14 billion last month, has managed to collect a mere Rs1.74 billion so far, said spokesperson Sushil Prasad Sharma.
Meanwhile, shipments which have entered Nepali territory remain piled up as workers have refused to move them citing security reasons.