State customs is all set to install Container Scanning Machines (CSMs) at all ports to ensure better security. These sophisticated machines, according to officials, can detect hazardous materials in containers, during customs clearance.
Chief Commissioner of Customs (Gujarat Zone), Ajit Kumar said, “The Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kandla port is expected to have a CSM by the end of August this year. We later plan to install CSMs gradually at all other ports in the state.” After Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai, Kendal will be the second port in India to have a CSM, Kumar added.
CSM is primarily a digital scanner of very high resolution and can spot explosives — including RDX — weapons or any other suspicious material inside a container.
It can screen sealed containers, when they are off-loaded and taken out in trucks, and can easily spot suspicious items inside them. “Suspicious material in the container, if any, can be seen clearly on the LCD screen attached to the machine,” Kumar explained.
Normally, it is difficult to detect explosives, prohibited materials in cargo and unexploded shells mixed with scrap metal consignments imported from other countries.
A senior customs officer, requesting anonymity, said, “It is virtually impossible to open every container and search manually. On an average, we search only 10 to 50 per cent of the cargo, depending on the nature of information about what it contains.”
Sources in Kandla customs said that in the absence of any specialised scanning device, they take the help of Army experts to search for explosives in suspicious cargos, particularly transshipment cargos and those about whom the department has specific information.
"Considering that the manual checks are not 100 per cent foolproof, we cannot rule out the possibility of consignment, which may contain explosives, contrabands or other prohibited materials, getting cleared by us,” the officer added.
Courtesy : Expressindia.com
Chief Commissioner of Customs (Gujarat Zone), Ajit Kumar said, “The Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kandla port is expected to have a CSM by the end of August this year. We later plan to install CSMs gradually at all other ports in the state.” After Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai, Kendal will be the second port in India to have a CSM, Kumar added.
CSM is primarily a digital scanner of very high resolution and can spot explosives — including RDX — weapons or any other suspicious material inside a container.
It can screen sealed containers, when they are off-loaded and taken out in trucks, and can easily spot suspicious items inside them. “Suspicious material in the container, if any, can be seen clearly on the LCD screen attached to the machine,” Kumar explained.
Normally, it is difficult to detect explosives, prohibited materials in cargo and unexploded shells mixed with scrap metal consignments imported from other countries.
A senior customs officer, requesting anonymity, said, “It is virtually impossible to open every container and search manually. On an average, we search only 10 to 50 per cent of the cargo, depending on the nature of information about what it contains.”
Sources in Kandla customs said that in the absence of any specialised scanning device, they take the help of Army experts to search for explosives in suspicious cargos, particularly transshipment cargos and those about whom the department has specific information.
"Considering that the manual checks are not 100 per cent foolproof, we cannot rule out the possibility of consignment, which may contain explosives, contrabands or other prohibited materials, getting cleared by us,” the officer added.
Courtesy : Expressindia.com