Indian protest slows cargo

STARTING from today Customs officials at the air cargo complex in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai City, are deliberately slowing down the pace of cargo handling as part of their protest against recent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids.
On 11 January the CBI carried out the searches while it investigates 14 Customs officers for allegedly accepting bribes from a Customs house agent. The agency seized several incriminating documents and hardware during the raids.
The protest, which will affect the air cargo complex, Nhava Sheva port and the Customs house, could mean productivity will be down 75 per cent.
The air cargo complex has an average daily traffic of 4,000 consignments (including both import and export). Customs officers say only 1,000 consignments will get cleared a day.
Congestion in the cargo complex means flight delays are expected. Flight diversions could be in place owing to the lack of cargo storage space while officials work only between 10.30am to 6pm, instead of late into the night as usual.

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