New Delhi, March 23 (KNN) Acceding to the long-pending demand of the trading community, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that a full-truck scanner would soon be installed at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari  to facilitate  trade with Pakistan. The full truck scanner will eliminate the long delay presently faced by the traders at the check post in unloading the consignments, getting them scanned and re loading on the trucks before security clearance for import / export to Pakistan.
 
Addressing a gathering on 22 March, 2015, after laying the foundation stone of the Viewers’ Gallery for the Retreat ceremony here, Rajnath said the Home Ministry would do their best to get the full-truck scanner installed at the ICP at the earliest, though he didn’t spell out a deadline for it. He said the move would mitigate the traders’ woes. He made this announcement after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as well as the local traders gave him a memorandum in this regard.
 
The traders urged the Home Minister to address their other key demands like 24X7 bilateral trade via Attari border, review of high storage and labour charges, expansion of warehousing facilities for storing imported goods, creation of appropriate infrastructure for unloading loose cargo, and setting up of Inland Container Depot (ICD).
 
Earlier, Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone of the Viewers’ Gallery for the Retreat ceremony at the Attari border in the presence of DK Pathak, BSF DG. To come up at a cost of Rs 24 crore, the new gallery will facilitate a seating capacity of 15,000 as compared to mere 5,000 at present.
 
The project will also include facilities like conference hall, dining hall, kitchen, guards’ room, hall, lobby and a medical room. The BSF also intends to have the state-of-the-art facilities such as CCTV cameras, bullet-proof control room, cafeteria, a spacious parking area, open-air theatre, toilets, observational tower and VIP gallery. (KNN/DB)