India’s seaports, which have become the main transit points for large drug consignments, require highly strict checks and do not have even basic infrastructure, sources have told News18. In the recent past, there have been many cases of drug shipments that have been linked to terrorism and skipped by Indian agencies deployed at the seaports. The Mundra port heroin case, which went unchecked in June last year, is one of many.
Such misses by agencies raise questions about how big consignments are going unchecked from seaports, say sources.
The reason, they say, is that ports have almost no infrastructure, no connectivity with servers, no proper offices, especially for one of the most important agencies that keeps a watch on illegal entries at all ports and is responsible for entry checks: the Bureau of Immigration (BoI). Sources say the agency is helpless and facing pressure from various port trusts to work as per port authorities’ conditions.
The matter has already been escalated to the top level and the ministry of home affairs is also in touch with states and other authorities to sort out the mess, but the efforts are taking longer as states and operators are not keen to fix the issue, a senior government official told News18.
Immigration authorities are expected to work in temporary structures/’shamianas’ set up by the port trusts and the offices of immigration at many ports are in “dilapidated conditions”, said sources.
According to the ministry, the condition of the other 21 seaport integrated checkposts (ICPs), which are manned by the state government personnel is worse than the BoI-controlled ICPs. Though BoI has supplied the required technical items, for instance, computers, webcams, etc, at these seaport ICPs, the space and infrastructure provided to the immigration personnel are grossly inadequate.
“In the recent past, there has been strong pressure from port trusts and tour operators on BoI to perform immigration function at berths, where no leased line connectivity exists, which is non-negotiable as, without data flow from the main server located in Delhi, security vetting and immigration clearance cannot be done,” the MHA says.
According to an immigration official, the reason for missing big consignments is poor checks.
“Almost all central government agencies at ports are working in pathetic conditions. There is poor infrastructure, sometimes we can’t even get a connection with our servers, which have all the data. In some ports, there is hardly any internet connectivity. These issues are helping anti-national elements easily smuggle stuff,” the official told News18 on condition of anonymity.
The situation is so bad that there are difficulties in berthing long vessels and no infrastructure facilities are available to handle the traffic of large vessels at some ports.
“Seaport authorities/operators to provide residential accommodation at a central/common location to Bureau of Immigration (BoI) (equal to 50% of the staff sanctioned in BoI) either by constructing the same or taking accommodation on lease. However, seaport authorities/operators have not provided any accommodation to the staff of BoI at seaports,” the home ministry said.
At present, there are 31 authorised seaport ICPs in the country, out of which immigration of 10 seaport ICPs is under the direct control of the BoI and the remaining are manned by state governments.
Besides seaports, four riverports in Assam’s Dhubri, Nagaon, Karimganj, and Pandu areas are notified for promotion of cruise and goods traffic under the control of the state government. “The Government of India has been promoting cruise operations through major Indian ports. Though the focus has been on facilitating foreign tourists, no matching efforts have been made by the concerned port trust authorities to provide basic minimum facilities and offer professional immigration services to the tourists despite the issue having been repeatedly taken up by the BoI,” the ministry said.
The matter has been escalated by the BoI many times in different meetings but nothing has been done for years, said an official. “We are still struggling to get basic infrastructure at various ports. In the last couple of years, several meetings were held with the ministry, state government, etc, but no proper step has been taken,” the immigration official said.
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