India’s Kolkata Port authority has halted loading of Nepal-bound railway containers since Friday, citing congestion, importers have said.

The port authority has informed it will resume the work from Monday, according to Vijay Kumar Sarawagi, chairman of Supply Committee at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

“Kolkata Port management has been halting the loading service time and again when the port is overcrowded,” he said. “We are we hopeful the work will resume from Monday.”

However, Animesh Kumar, accounts officer at Himalayan Terminal Private Limited, the operator of Birgunj’s Sirsiya Dry Port, said Indian port authority has not informed them about halting of the service.

“Railway racks left for the Dry Port from Kolkata even on Friday,” he said.

Importers said about 2,000 Nepal-bound loaded containers have been stuck at Kolkata port.

Despite the Indian trade embargo and Tarai unrest, the Dry Port has largely remained operational lately. So export-import activities through the Dry Port have grown compared to other customs points.

Chief of the Dry Port Customs Office Devi Prasad Bhandari said imports of bulk cargo, especially rice, paddy, wheat, MS billet, soya bean and oil cakes, have increased.

He said as many as 17 railway racks were on their way to the Dry Port from Kolkata. “However, transactions could be affected if the goods are stuck in Kolkata for a long,” Bhandari said.

Central vice-president of Customs Agents Federation Shyam Babu Patel said there should be strong lobbying from the government to solve problems that emerge time and again while bringing in goods through railway.