Bettiah: The road blockade in Raxaul, 204km north of Patna, was lifted on Friday night after the East Champaran district administration acceded to the protesters' demand to let vehicles through the integrated checkpost immediately.
Hundreds of commuters had been held up for nearly 30 hours as protesters choked the main artery connecting New Delhi with Kathmandu.
"The road blockade has been lifted. The customs department has agreed to entertain and ensure the passage of all vehicles carrying single item through the integrated checkpost," said Amit Kumar, Raxaul sub-divisional officer after 9.30pm on Friday. "We will again review the situation, especially movement of vehicles through the integrated checkpost after this new modification to tide over the traffic congestion in Raxual. We will hold a meeting and resolve problems, if any."
Mahesh Agarwal, the state coordinator of Seema Jagaran Manch, an organisation at the forefront of the agitation, came down heavily on the district administration, the integrated checkpost and customs officials. "For their nonchalant attitude, Raxual residents were forced to brave insurmountable traffic problems. As agreed, all single item cargos will be diverted and would be able to pass through the checkpost. We will let the multiple item cargo to pass through Raxual till June 30, following which we will launch another agitation," he said.
He also said the district administration has agreed to allocate compensation to the motorcyclist who was badly injured in an accident on Thursday. Residents, trade bodies and civil organisations had choked National Highway 28A at Raxual, resulting in 30km of long queues of vehicles till Sagauli.
The woes for commuters who frequent NH 28A are, however, far from over even after the lift of the road blockade. The 30km stretch between Raxual and Sagauli is filled with potholes and craters. A construction company has started work on making the road motorable at an estimated Rs 16 crore, but residents say the road becomes accident-prone after a brief spell of rain.