Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 9. With the trial run of cargo movement to and from Pakistan beginning today, the countdown has begun for the inauguration of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on April 13.
The trucks started moving into the ICP through the new gate early in the morning as the authorities have changed the timings for trade to 7 am to 7 pm as against the earlier time of 8 am to 4 pm. A total of 49 trucks, mostly loaded with gypsum, arrived from Pakistan. The movement of trucks from India to Pakistan was slow apparently due to the new system of documentation introduced by the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) at the ICP.
Meanwhile, the passenger movement continued through the old gate for the second day today as Pakistan continues to remain adamant on its stand due to lack of infrastructure on its new gate. The passengers coming from Pakistan are alighting at the old gate from where they are taken to the ICP in special buses. Similarly, the Pak-bound passengers board these buses after getting their custom and immigration clearance to reach the old gate from where they cross over to Pakistan.
The Lahore-Delhi bus got delayed by around three hours today due to the new system in place at the ICP and also more luggage with its passengers who were heading to Delhi for an exhibition. Overall, more than 200 passengers crossed over to Pakistan, while around 175 arrived in India via the ICP.
Meanwhile, the preparations have begun for the inaugural ceremony of the ICP with a huge pandal being erected on its sprawling premises. The security arrangements are tight at the ICP with a battalion of the BSF being deployed there.
