Raxaul (Bihar), June 15: Imagine if Basanti did not run a tonga from the station to Ramgarh village, Jai and Veeru would have never been able to reach Ramgarh, forget about killing Gabbar and saving the villagers.

If Sholay is incomplete without Dhanno and the tonga, so is the life of tonga pullers who ferry people across the border to Birganj in Nepal for a living. Tonga has been their means of livelihood since the British Raj.

This archaic tonga is still the most popular mode of transportation on the 3.5km stretch between Raxaul and Birganj. But the tongas of late have become a major source of inconvenience for the people in the district. Reason: they do not have a stand of their own.

The tonga pullers block nearly 75 per cent of the National Highway 28 (A) near Kaurihar Chowk in the bordering town of Bihar and Nepal from dawn until late evening. As a result, this area is choked almost all day and the daily passengers and tourists have a harrowing experience. The worst sufferers are the ones who have to travel to Nepal. Tourists reach this district in course of their Nepal trip from various places in the country and outside.

“Passengers of Jan-Sadharan Express, Satyagraha Express, Sadbhavna Express and Mithila Express, are often tormented with this routine road blockade. It takes about two to three hours to reach the bus stop or the airport in Birganj. If the road is clear, the journey should not take more than 30 minutes,” a man residing in the area said. The executive officer of Nagar Parishad, Rajendra Prasad Singh, told The Telegraph: “The state government has no land to provide the tongawalas with a stand. We are talking to the railway officials to lease out some of their land for the purpose till any permanent arrangement is made by the government.”

Sub-divisional magistrate of Raxaul Jitendra Prasad Sah told The Telegraph: “Nagar Parishad has been asked to make alternative arrangements to avoid this routine trouble faced not only by the people of the area but also tourists and other visitors.”

The superintendent of police has also been requested to provide a sufficient number of traffic constables to effectively control the traffic rush.

Raxaul sub-divisional police officer Rajiv Ranjan admitted that there is a shortage of government land to make way for a diversion and ease traffic movement. He also blamed the lack of infrastructure, lawlessness and the growing lack of civic sense among the people behind the problem. “However, I hope that the trouble will have a permanent solution in the next two years, once the integrated check post in Raxaul is functional,” he added.