RAUTAHAT, FEBRUARY 22

The government has lost a huge amount in revenue as vehicles seized at different times and kept at the Gaur Customs Office are yet to be auctioned.

Hundreds of vehicles, along with various items, seized at different times have been kept on the premises of Gaur Customs. As they are kept in the open, and with the official auction not happening for months now, these items worth tens of millions of rupees are degrading.

According to sources, some vehicle parts have also been stolen.

According to the customs Chief Sushil Prasad Sharma, the auction process had to be put off due to the coronavirus crisis.

'Though I had made a plan to start the auction process as soon as I was transferred here, the same couldn't happen as we were hit by the pandemic,' said Sharma, identifying annual floods that hit the region as also another factor that contributed in turning the vehicles into valueless metal scrap.

As per customs sources, there are 643 bikes, more than 50 four-wheelers, including a truck waiting to be auctioned. 'As the auction process hasn't started, it has caused loss to the government,' said the chief.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 23, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.