Despite six bays working round-the-clock at gate number zero at Chennai Port, the trailers continue to pile up on the roadside from the port gate till Red Hills.
While trailers parked on both sides of the road affect the Ennore-Manali road improvement project, the trade is also moving at a slow pace, as it takes minimum 30 hours on road for the vehicle to reach the city port from the container freight stations.
The ongoing metro rail works have also contributed to the long queue, as the Poonamalle High Road couldn’t be used for trailer traffic during night hours. “The exports have to be restrained to avoid congestion and allow free flow of traffic,” say industry experts.
S. R. Raja, president of Trailers Owners Association, who has been vehemently opposing the issuing of more number of Form-13s, said the congestion could be avoided by reducing the number of export declaration forms given on a single day. He wanted the container terminals to moderate the issuing of Form-13 as per requirements and facilities available.
Chennai Customs House Clearance Agents Association (Cchcaa) secretary S. Natarajan too noted that the container terminals should reduce the issue of Form-13, so that the vehicles don’t queue up to the port unnecessarily.
“From the trade side, we have decided to post 25 people to regulate traffic from Monday. The Chennai Trade Coordination Committee will take care of their expenses,” he added.
A.V. Vijayakumar, Cchcaa president, said the posting of six customs officials to verify import and export of cargo at the port gate has led to smooth flow of traffic.