Unauthorised Gate At Ctg Port
Security at risk
SHAMSUDDIN ILLIUS, Ctg
Media: The Independent
A 20 feet-wide gate has been built by tearing down a portion of the boundary wall of the Chittagong port’s protected area without the permission of the Customs authorities. Hundreds of covered vans, trucks, and other vehicles enter the port through this gate without being checked by the Chittagong Customs or the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA). The gate is situated about 500 metres south-west of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT). According to the law, each gate has to have an assistant commissioner of Customs, CCTV cameras, a checkpoint, and a weigh-bridge for vehicles entering and leaving the port. But none of these was found there. Sources said that for the last three years, the CPA had given some businessmen the privilege to use the gate for unknown reasons.
A security expert said gate had opened up possibilities of smuggling of goods into the country. Some people believe this gate is not only being used for smuggling, but also to evade revenue. Security expert Maj. Emdadul Islam said, “It is a security concern. People who want to enter and move out illegal things will use the gate. The port is supposed to be a very secure area; the CPA cannot allow this under any circumstances. There is a possibility of bringing in explosives and ammunition through this gate.”
Read more: Unauthorised gate at Ctg port to be closed
The virtually unmanned gate not only posed a security threat but also robbed the government of revenue, added Maj. Emdadul Islam. This correspondent yesterday saw 52 trucks and covered vans entering the port through the passage between 10:35am and 10:46am without being checked.
As per rules, trucks and the covered vans must keep their door open so that a security officer can easily see who or what is inside. When asked, a port security guard named Hainf Uddin, who was on duty at the gate, told The Independent, “We usually check the vehicles when they enter the port. If we check now, there will be traffic congestion; so now we are not checking.”
The security guard also said 1,400 to 1,500 vehicles entered the port everyday though this gate. But port sources said the number would be 2,000–2,500. Chittagong Customs authorities said the CPA had not taken any permission to create the entrance. They said the CPA was not authorised to build such a gate without the permission of the Customs authorities.
Md Azizur Rahman, additional commissioner of Chittagong Customs, told The Independent, “As there is a risk of losing revenue and safety issues are involved, the port authorities cannot have any gate beyond the jurisdiction of the customs authorities. There is no such provision in the law. We were not aware of the gate, but after getting information, we have asked the CPA to close it. They have promised to do so soon.”
According to Sections 9 and 10 of the Customs Act 1969, “declaration of customs-ports, customs-airports, etc. – The Board may, by the notification in the official Gazette, declare- (a) the ports and airports which alone shall be customs-ports or customs-airports for the unloading of imported goods and loading of goods for export or any class of such goods”.
So designating any place as a gate is clearly the jurisdiction of the Customs authorities.
Section 10 says the Customs has the “Power to approve landing places and specify limits of customs- stations.- The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette- (a) specify the limits of any customs station.” But the CPA did not take any permission from the Chittagong Customs, and a visit revealed there was no Customs officer at the gate. The Customs had not posted any officer there, said Customs sources. Zafar Alam, CPA’s director (administration and planning), said, “Customs cannot avoid their responsibility. They visited the gate sometimes.”
When asked why covered vans were being allowed to enter the port without their doors being open, he said, “I don’t know about it. He had earlier told The Independent, “To expedite the operational activities of the port, empty covered vans and vehicles entered the port using the gate. The gate is not used by vehicles leaving the port.”
He also said ‘The permission from Chittagong customs for the gate is underway.” President of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and Chairman of Port Users Forum, Mahabubul Alam, told The Independent after hearing about the gate, “It is unethical to build an illegal gate by breaking the boundary wall at the county’s premier port. There should be Customs officials, CCTV cameras, and a checkpoint. Such a gate is a security threat to the port and the country. It should be sealed without delay.” “It should not be there, as 92 per cent of the country’s import-export activities are conducted through this port. The concern is not only about collecting revenue but also about port security,” added Mahabubul Alam.
