Thursday, January 31, 2013

Land Customs station remains unutilized

CHAMPHAI, 31 Jan – The Zokhawthar Land Customs Station complex, meant to facilitate bilateral trade with Mynamar, is not yet functional as the premises have not been formally handed over to the Customs Department by the State Trade and Commerce Department.

Built at a cost of about Rs 700 lakh, the composite LCS complex is to house the telecom, State Bank of India, security, the Trade and Commerce Department, godowns and other offices. The total area of the complex is around 18.40 bighas.

Unofficial sources told this correspondent at Zokhawthar that the complex was ready but could not be formally inaugurated till it is official handed over.

Officials of the Customs Department are housed in a tiny room near the Zokhawthar-Tiau bridge. It is learnt that the Customs staffers are housed in tiny rooms nearby as they have refused to move into the staff quarters constructed for them at Melbuk, 8 kms from their check post.

A considerable amount of money was spent on the construction of the project as well as for the 126 acres of land for the township. The quarter complex at Melbuk with about 12 Assam Type quarters under the name of Indo-Mynamar Border Trade Township, is lying unoccupied for the last several years.

While the border is totally porous, no effort seems to have been made at rationalizing the entry of Burmese persons into the State.

While there are nearly a lakh of Burmese of Zo-Chin origin living or doing business in Mizoram, the register at the migration check post do not reflect this migration from Burma.