Indian transporters at Fulbari, the check-post along the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Siliguri, stopped trucks carrying boulders from Bhutan to Bangladesh on Monday.
The transporters in Fulbari claimed their trucks could not carry boulders to Bangladesh for the past three months. Importers of Bangladesh bought boulders only from Bhutan, Indian transporters alleged.
Due to the blockade, trucks from Bhutan stood in beeline near the border. The situation turned normal later in the afternoon after Indian transporters withdrew the blockade following a meeting with Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb.
On Tuesday, the transporters will meet the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri (Fulbari is in Jalpaiguri district) to discuss the issue, sources said.
Suvankar Naskar, the former secretary of Fulbari Truck Owners Welfare Association (FTOWA), said that for the past three months, the truck owners in Fulbari could not send boulders to Bangladesh with the neighbouring country choosing to buy from Bhutan.
“Due to the recent deterioration in bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh, importers are not buying boulders through our transporters. This has led to a serious impact on our business. Over 1,500 truck owners at Fulbari have been affected badly. If Bangladesh does not allow our truckers to export boulders, no truck from Bhutan will be allowed to cross our border through Fulbari,” Naskar said.
Apart from the representatives of FTOWA, members of Fulbari Truck Drivers Association, Fulbari Exporters Association and Fulbari C & F Association assembled at the Fulbari border.
Around 150 of them put up a blockade and started a sit-in demonstration at 8am, which continued till 2pm.
As the news spread, mayor Deb communicated with them. A delegation comprising representatives of these associations and local INTTUC leaders and some members of the local rural body met Deb.
Deb heard them out and spoke over the phone with Shama Parveen, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, requesting her to look into the matter.
“The mayor assured us that a decision will be made within the next three days. A delegation will also meet the DM on Tuesday afternoon. If our problem is not addressed during the next 72 hours, we will resume our movement at the border,” Naskar said.
Sources said every day, around 250 trucks from Bhutan cross the border through Fulbari, carrying boulders. Each truck carries around 30 tonnes of boulders, said
a transporter.
“We have withdrawn our blockade today (Monday). But if our trucks are not allowed to enter Bangladesh, we will stop all the trucks that come from Bhutan and will not let those vehicles cross the border,” said Md Shahjahan, secretary of the truck
owners’ association.