Year on, truck scanner at Attari ICP lies defunct
AMRITSAR: More than a year after the Full Body Truck Scanner (FBTS) was set up at the Integrated Check Post (ICP), Attari, to detect concealed arms, ammunition, explosives, detonators, fake currency and narcotics, it has not been working due to a technical glitch.
The Rs 23 crore truck scanner project was announced in March 2017. Of the five truck scanners imported from the US, the first one was installed at the ICP, which facilitates India’s trade with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The customs department, which is responsible for the checking of trucks importing goods at the ICP, had conducted the scanner’s trial after its infrastructure development was completed in November 2019, but did not give results.
Now, Customs officials say they are waiting for the repair of the scanner. “We have already written to the MHA on the issue and a reply is awaited,” said a senior Customs official, who didn’t wish to be named.
The officials of the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), which manages the affairs of the ICP, said a team of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) from Mumbai is visiting on Monday to check safety norms of the FBTS. Since the foundation stone of the ICP was laid in 2010, there has been a demand for a
A special team is coming to check security of the scanner on Monday. It will give us certification. SUKHDEV SINGH, manager
scanner as manual checking of vehicles by customs officials, with sniffer dogs, is not 100% error-free, and has, sometimes, led to clearing of contraband.
“An AERB team is visiting to check the security of the scanner on Monday. The team will give us certification for the use of the scanner,” said ICP manager Sukhdev Singh. He said they hoped that officials of Punj Llyod—the construction company which is responsible for setting up the scanner—will visit soon to repair the glitch.
Sources said six months ago, a team from the AERB had visited, and issued a certification that the scanner could be used, but it was never used by the customs as it failed to detect narcotics, fake currency and other contraband.
Indian traders allege that the process of operationalising the scanner is being delayed on purpose. They claim traders have been suffering for the past 10 years due to harassment of manual checking.