Ctg customs to dispose of 63 containers of goods starting Wednesday

Chattogram Customs House is going to dispose of 63 containers full of goods that have perished at Chattogram port as importers did not take them.

The two-day-long demolition of goods will start from Wednesday in the Ananda Bazar area of Halishahar in the port city.

Following a high-level government meeting in Chattogram on 28 July, the removal of dangerous cargo from the port has been expedited.

In that meeting, a decision was taken to form a task force to ensure the overall security of Chattogram port. It also discussed speedy removal of dangerous cargo from the port, and the auction of auctionable goods.

In line with the meeting's decision, a committee was formed for the removal of expired goods lying about in the port for a long time.

Chattogram's Additional Divisional Commissioner (General), Prakash Kanti Chowdhury, the convener of the committee,  told The Business Standard that Chattogram Customs House is coordinating the process of disposing of the goods.  Most of the goods are date expired food products.

In all, 63 containers of goods will be destroyed this week. They will be buried so there is no bad smell, said Chattogram Customs House Deputy Commissioner Santos Soren, member secretary of the committee.

Apart from this, from 11 September, the customs house will also start destroying 382 containers of goods which went bad for not being auctioned on time.

It will take around 15-20 days to complete the demolition process.

According to the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), there are 7,511 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers waiting for auction at the port yard and sheds. Of those, at least 272 containers are full of hazardous goods.

Importers sometimes do not take delivery of various products brought from abroad. The authorities seize some goods in physical examination if traders try to import them evading customs duties.