The customs office has promptly implemented the instructions and begun barring the entry of all relief material submitted by various agencies for customs inspection. At present, the customs office allows in only relief material received from donors who have obtained recommendations from the chief district officer (CDO)."All relief material donated by agencies that haven't obtained recommendations from the CDO has to go through strict inspections," said Biratnagar customs chief Krishna Bahadur Basnet. "We give them entry permit only after verifying, recording and informing the Department of Customs", he informed.
However, the customs people are finding it very difficult to inspect and verify every single item of relief material as such material is being brought into the country in very large quantities, added Basnet.
Various donors are bringing in earthquake relief material such as tents, foodstuff and medicines from across the Indian border. According to the customs office, various entities in Morang including the district administration office have imported over 2,000 tents. Similarly, five boxes of powdered milk and around 100kg of foodstuff have been brought in. A non-governmental organization in Biratnagar has brought a large quantity of medicines worth around Rs 200,000.
Following the instructions to tighten monitoring on incoming material, Biratnagar customs has formed a "high-level recommendations committee" for effective monitoring. The committee is led by the CDO and includes the local development officer, the police chief and the customs chief. No relief material can enter the country without obtaining the recommendations.
Before recommendations are issued, the relief material along with the trucks carrying it are inspected in the customs yard. "We have tightened the inspection process as per the instructions," confirmed custom chief Basnet.
According to Barun Mishra, a local, people are thronging Jogbani in India to buy the relief material. "There are crowds of unmanagable proportions purchasing relief material in Jogbani," he said, adding that the crowds are increasing rapidly.
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