Fulbari border opens for goods vehicles
Darjeeling: The Fulbari-Banglabandha border (Indo Bangla border) was opened for goods vehicles on Saturday after 80 days of closure.
This was done after a notification from the DM, Jalpaiguri.
It has been decided that 50 trucks from India and 50 trucks from Bhutan will be allowed to pass through daily. Bangladesh as of now will not be sending trucks. Mainly trucks carrying holders are sent from India through this border.
"Around thirty thousand people are connected to trade through this border. It is a great relief that the border trade has finally started" stated Shubhankar Naskar of Fulbari Truck Owners Association.
Meanwhile it has been decided that shops will not close in Darjeeling town from Monday. Traffic will also ply as normal.
This was announced by traders and transport associations on Saturday following a meeting with the Darjeeling district administration and police.
Incidentally different trade and transport associations had come together in Darjeeling on Friday and declared that all shops would remain closed in the hill town for a week from Monday.
Taxis and private vehicles would also remain off the roads. Only medicine shops would remain open and water tankers would ply.
The aim of the closure was to check the growing advances of Covid-19 in Darjeeling.
SN Pradhan, Convenor of a committee that had been constituted on Friday said: "We did not call a bandh. We were planning to close down voluntarily so that crowds could be avoided and thereby
Covid-19 advances could be checked. The district
administration and police have assured us that the town will be sanitized and of crowd control. Acting on these
assurances we have decided to roll back our earlier decision. Shops will remain open till 5pm from Monday. Vehicles will also ply."
The District Magistrate, Darjeeling made a round of markets in Siliguri.
"Fruits and vegetable complexes will be closed for 07 days from Monday in the Regulated Market Complex as a preventive measure. Few Covid-19 cases have been linked with the Fish Market in this complex in Siliguri" stated S Ponnambalam, DM, Darjeeling.
