Goods are sold cheaper on the Indian border than in the local market. [break]
According to officials at the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), Kohalpur unit, nearly 100 differently-abled people are involved in the illegal enterprise. The disabled ferry goods on their wheelchairs. “We have attempted to stop it, but the disabled people accuse the government of discouraging them,” said Ram Prasad Acharya, the chief of DRI, Kohalpur unit, adding that though they carry small quantities they have been found ferrying expensive goods.
According to officials, they make a maximum of eight trips every day. “They are paid Rs 100-150 for a trip depending on the quantity of goods ferried,” a local businessmen said on condition of anonymity. They mostly ferry sugar, edible oil, small but expensive motor parts and electrical equipments, he added.
“This business has become a good source of earning our livelihood. We would have been jobless, hadn´t we been allowed to ferry goods,” said a physically-disabled man.
Asked if he felt exploited, he said, “We are exploited. But have been getting some money at least.”
According to officials at the DRI, local businessmen have been evading hundreds of thousand in taxes every day. “We have also consulted the police and local businessmen to find ways to control such business,” Acharya said, adding, “But no one dares to utter a single word against the disabled.”
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