Aid stuck in red tape

Just because of red tape, a container full of relief materials donated by the Indian Navy for the victims of cyclone Mora has been lying abandoned at the Chittagong Port for nearly seven months.

While the government authorities concerned point fingers at each other, it is feared that some of the relief goods have already gone bad.

Kamrul Haque, an official of Chittagong Customs House, said they were unable to give the container to the Deputy Commissioner office of Chittagong as the bill of lading (B/L), package list, and detailed list of the materials were not submitted.

Officials at Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Chittagong District Administration and the clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent, who are responsible for getting the goods released from the port, said they were not given the “required” documents by the donor.

Sources at the customs house said the relief goods include 41 types of medicine, primary aid materials, saline, inhalers, cannulas, and 70 types of other goods, including packed food, soup, tents, blankets, body lotions, candles, towels and clothes.

The actual weight of the goods could not be known due to lack of documents, they said.

The relief goods were brought by the Indian Navy ship INS Sumitra on June 1 after it fished out 33 Bangladeshi fishermen from the Bay following the deadly cyclone that hit the Chittagong coastal belt on May 31.

Mora left at least eight people dead, scores missing, and thousands of people homeless in Cox's Bazar alone. Damage to crops was also extensive.

After receiving the relief materials from the Indian high commissioner, those were immediately stored inside the container. The container was sealed in presence of representatives of the district administration, Chittagong Port Authority, and the customs house, and kept at the port.

Deputy Commissioner Zillur Rahman of Chittagong on June 5 sent a letter to the director general of Department of Disaster Management (DDM) in Dhaka seeking instructions for having the relief materials released from port through a C&F agent and for the distribution of the goods.

The DDM on June 18 appointed C&F agent Shammi Agencies Ltd for the task.

The agent nearly three months later on October 12 asked the Commissioner of Chittagong Custom House for a registration number that is needed for submitting the bill of entry.

Kamrul Haque, assistant programmer of the customs house and assigned for supervising and releasing relief consignments, said the C&F agent asked for the registration but failed to provide minimum required documents, like bill of lading (B/L), content of cartons or detailed product list.

Shammi Agencies proprietor Firoj Ahmed said they sought those documents from the DDM which failed to deliver. The DDM only gave them a list of the goods on a plain paper, which was not acceptable to the customs house, he said.

Kamrul said they usually release such consignments after getting a few documents, including a letter of announcement issued by the supplier of the cargo. Since relief materials were duty free, there was no need for value assessment.

“We followed the same procedure for releasing relief goods for the Rohingyas,” he said.

Kamrul said now special permission is needed from National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the foreign ministry for releasing the goods.

DC Zillur Rahman told The Daily Star that they could not submit the documents required for releasing the relief items as the Indian Navy did not provide them any such papers.

“When we sought documents from the Indian Navy personnel they provided us a list of the relief goods on plain paper and we gave the list to the DDM,” he added.

“I had no idea that receiving of relief goods without necessary documents from a donor would cause so much hassle for us,” he said.

Eftekharul Islam, director, relief, directorate of disaster management, told The Daily Star that he left no stones unturned to get the relief materials released from the Chittagong Port.

“I communicated with Chittagong customs authorities several times and even last month wrote to the NBR chairman to release the goods under special consideration. I also contacted the Indian high commission and the foreign ministry. But nothing worked,” he said.

He said the NBR told him that they would not be able to help without the minimum documents required.

Officials at the Indian high commission told him that the Indian Navy officials at that time could not provide necessary documents as they were in a hurry and that it was difficult for them to come up with the documents now since many months have passed.

Eftekharul said now only the foreign ministry or higher authorities could intervene and have the goods released.

Asked, an official at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka yesterday said they were not aware that a container full of relief materials was stuck at the port. 

While visiting the port recently, the container (number HJCU-2135604) was seen abandoned at an open space beside shed-4 of the port.