News
|
||||
Navy
checks delay foodstuff "So far they have checked only twenty to thirty containers. We were not warned about this new procedure", Pettah Traders' Association (PTA) secretary G. Illamanathan told The Sunday Times. Navy spokesman, Commander Jayantha Perera confirmed that the containers being checked consisted of perishable items. He said the Navy was following a directive to detect illegal items arriving as tsunami aid. No suspicious items have been found in the containers checked so far, he said. The PTA said it had written to the President, the Prime Minister and the Trade Minister protesting against the Navy checks. The Old Moor Street Trader's Association too had followed suit. "We will have to bear heavy losses. There is no insurance cover for damage of perishables. Even under the usual clearance potatoes and onions have to be thrown away. What we get after clearance now will be useless", lamented A. Karim Yusuf, a trader who imports around 500 tonnes of potatoes and onions a month. Over 6,000 tonnes of onions and potatoes are expected to perish in the port backlog. N. Selvaraj, an Old Moor Street Traders' Association member said Rs. 3,000 had to be paid per day for lorries meant for transporting the goods but idling outside the Grayline yard in Orugodawatte and Grandpass. He said a further 15 dollars per day had to be paid to the port if the containers remained for more than three days. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
