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| July 5, 2005 | Tuesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 27, 1426 |
3,585 ton Indian sugar lying at railway station
LAHORE, July 4: Islamabad is contemplating to import 200,000 ton sugar from New Delhi while as many as 3,585 metric tons of the commodity imported from India have been lying at the Lahore Railways Station since November, 2001, it is learnt. “The government is planning to allow a Karachi-based party to bring in sugar from the neighbouring country while the commodity imported from India by another group of the same city lying at Lahore is becoming completely unfit for human consumption,” officials told Dawn on Monday.
“The amount due on the consignment has accumulated to Rs207,754,828 till Dec 7, 2004. The figure do not include the wharfage charges increasing at the rate of Rs1,680 per wagon per day and the freight charges for export,” they said.
“Storage of the 35,880 sugar bags has left little space for unloading at the Lahore goods office because of its limited terminal facilities,” they said.
Railways authorities, they said, have sought clearance from the finance division and the National Accountability Bureau to re-export the ‘frustrated sugar cargo’ to India after receiving Rs1 million wharfage charges from the banks concerned.
Karachi-based M/s Zulfiqar Corporation had struck a deal with M/s Shivernath Rai Harnarian (India) for the import of 130 wagons of sugar from Meerut Cantt to Lahore.
The consignee did not affect the delivery of the consignment when only 129 wagons arrived at Lahore and informed the PR authorities that there were various discrepancies in the LC documents and these had been returned to the state banks of Indore and Patiala, and the goods would be lying at his risk and responsibility at the Lahore goods office.
Meanwhile, M/s Abdul Ghaffar Company of Karachi, which had no concern with the matter, got a stay order against M/s Shivernath Rai for not delivering 33,500 metric tons sugar. The consignment supplied was 13,100 metric tons and was not up to the mark of specification. A Lahore civil court restrained the railways from re-exporting the consignment to India.
Later, another civil court allowed the re-export of the sugar to India, while M/s Abdul Ghaffar moved the Lahore High Court which upheld the decision of the civil court.
The state banks of Indore and Patiala sought the re-export of the sugar lying at the Lahore goods office along with waiver of the demurrage and wharfage charges.
The railway authorities decided to demand Rs1,101,100 freight charges from the banks concerned besides the re-export freight charges at the prevalent rate.
It was decided that the banks would also pay Rs863,388 demurrage charges.
The banks concerned insisted upon the complete waiver of the wharfage charges, but agreed to pay Rs1 million onward wharfage charges for the full and final settlement.
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