Tsunami aid from Holland stranded at Wagah

The caravan of trucks, which entered India on Saturday, has a nine-member team of Holland-based NGO, Motherhood. The team is in constant touch with local Customs officials who have expressed ‘‘helplessness’’ in resolving the issue. The matter has been referred to higher authorities in Delhi.

‘‘We have not received any communication from Delhi to clear the material without Duty. We feel sorry but what can we do? We are waiting for a nod from Delhi,’’ said Assistant Commissioner, Customs, P.S. Bisht. He added the NGO had not even submitted documents relating to the material.

Motherhood director Dr Nicolien Kroona said she had taken the matter up with the authorities in Delhi and had conveyed to them that if the Duty was to be levied, it ought to be done after the material reached Tamil Nadu. ‘‘More than 20,000 children of my country contributed material for the victims. It is ironic that we are waiting for clearance now and no one is there to listen to us,’’ she rued. The NGOs who demanded the relief material were St. Karnalaya Thomas Hospital in Tamil Nadu and the BGM Social Service Centre in Kerala, she added.

Sources at the Customs Department said that five of the nine members of the team did not have proper visa documents either. ‘‘Some members have stayed back in Islamabad and are helping the rest put their travel documents in order,’’ Kroona said.