Due to shipping companies and Indian railway companies' failure to deliver the imported goods on time, over 1,000 Nepal-bound cargo containers have been stuck at the Visakhapatnam Port in India.

According to the Nepal Freight Forwarders' Association, the majority of consignments contain Chinese-made goods. Many of them have been stocked at the Indian port for up to four months since they arrived. The shipping companies in question are in charge of bringing the imported goods up to the Nepal-India border via Indian sea ports. In addition, imported goods are transported to border points by three railway companies, including the Indian government-owned Container Corporation of India (CONCOR).

The lack of initiatives by CONCOR and the shipping companies involved, according to traders, is one of the main reasons for the current delay in the delivery of goods. The monopoly of CONCOR was broken last July when the Nepal-India Railway Services Agreement was amended, and two private railway companies, Hind Terminals and Pristine Logistics, were added to the list of service providers.

Source: The Republica