A part of the flood relief materials that arrived by air cargo at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, addressed to private consignees, are yet to be claimed.
As many as 80 tonnes of materials are lying unclaimed at the airport here, said Customs officials at a press conference at the Collectorate on Wednesday.
260 tonnes claimed
Till now, a total of 340 tonnes flood relief materials have arrived at the airport. Out of this, 260 tonnes have been claimed.
“We have managed to clear a considerable part of the air cargo sent from abroad. The remaining have to be claimed by the private consignees to whom it is addressed. We request them to contact the Customs or district administration as soon as possible. We are also reaching out to each of them personally. The Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), which is the custodian of the materials, has provided us the contact details of the consignees,” said G. Vivekanand, Assistant Commissioner, Customs Department.
“We will convince the consignees of the easiness of the procedure. Of course, it is not like claiming a courier. There are certain parameters to be complied with. The Deputy Collector will have to issue a distribution certificate within six months to ensure that the items have been distributed properly. We are particular that none of the materials should be wasted. So we request all the consignees to claim them at the earliest,” he said.
On the relief materials that still remain at the railway station here, District Collector K. Vasuki said they would be taken to storage facilities in other districts.
“It is not true that these materials are lying here unclaimed. These are materials that have been unloaded from trains from other States, to be transported to a centralised facility at Shoranur. In Thiruvananthapuram, all such facilities were already full. These materials will soon be taken by the next available train,” she said.