Raxaul: Thanks to the integrated check post (ICP) near Pantoka, the reduced traffic of heavy vehicles on the roads of Raxaul, a sub-divisional town in East Champaran district located 210km north of Patna, has spelt relief for the town residents.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, jointly inaugurated the ICP, located to the west of Raxaul, through remote control from Delhi on April 7.

A large number of heavy vehicles, which used to cross Raxaul on way to Nepal, are now going through the ICP, the road for which has been constructed near Laxmipur, which is around 6km south of the main town. "Of the 700 and odd heavy vehicles, which used to go through the town earlier, around 300 are now crossing the border through the ICP," a senior Indian customs officials, posted at Raxaul, told The Telegraph.

He said more such vehicles would soon be diverted through the ICP after talks with officials from Nepal. "There are some infrastructural constraints on the Nepal side owing to which all the vehicles have not been diverted towards the ICP," said the official.

There is one more constraint regarding diverting all heavy vehicles through the ICP. It pertains to the vehicles that come out of the petroleum depot at Raxaul and go to Nepal and also the ones carrying goods which are offloaded at Raxaul railway station before being sent to Nepal.

Till now, no direct road connectivity has been provided between the ICP and the oil depot and railway station and hence, vehicles coming out from these two places still go through Raxaul town.

Though the relief is partial for the residents of the border town, they sounded a happier lot. "At least we have been set free from the perennial traffic snarls which used to make life tough for residents. Sometimes, even ambulances used to get caught in the snarl," said college teacher and Raxaul resident Anil Sinha.

A Raxaul cloth merchant and member of the Indo-Nepal Chamber of Commerce Rajkumar Gupta said: "Our customers from Nepal had virtually stopped coming here owing to traffic snarls. Now, these customers will come to the local market which would boost business and trade activities."

Transporter Ravi Srivastava said those running transport business here used to suffer a lot because of delay in movement of vehicles. "Now, the smooth movement of vehicles will ensure timely delivery of consignments and better business prospects for the transporters," he said.