Authorities have decided to destroy 382 containers of commodities that had been lying unfit for auction at Chittagong port for a long time.
The items would be destroyed in the City Corporation's dumping yard in Anandabazar area in the port city beginning Sunday, said Md Mahfuz Alam, assistant commissioner of Chittagong Customs House.
He said that these perishable commodities imported from several countries had been sitting at the port for a long time.
A committee comprised of members from all relevant institutions was constituted in this connection. The committee recently decided to destroy the containers, he added.
Mahfuz Alam said: "These 382 containers have been stored in 111 lots so far. These items will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. According to port records, around 7,000 containers have been resting for a long time and are not eligible for auction. We will evaluate and decide on destroying them from there".
Earlier, Chittagong Custom House Joint Commissioner Md Musfiqur Rahim convened a nine-member committee to destroy these perishable items.
Onion, ginger, apple, pomegranate, dragon fruits, orange, coriander, grapes, kalonji, kinnow, frozen lizard fish, boneless buffalo meat, wheat bran, fish feed, bulk grain, salt, garlic, sunflower oil, black horse drink, coffee & friends, and other perishable/ biodegradable (decomposable) products are included in this shipment.
Following the destruction, these containers will be removed from the port. This would free up some space at the port, said Md Mahfuz Alam.
