‘With opening of bypass road, motor vehicle repair workshops in a lurch’

Update: 2024-05-19 17:23 GMT

Raiganj: More than a month has passed since the bypass road from Rupahar to Tetultola diverting Raiganj town was opened for vehicles. Now all vehicles of long routes are not entering Raiganj town causing a major dent in the automobile repair and spare parts shops of Raiganj.

Many mechanics working in the repair workshops dotting Siliguri More in Raiganj have become jobless. Some of the repair workshop owners, who are financially strong, are shifting their workshops by purchasing plots near the bypass road. The ones who cannot shift are in a lurch.

Previously, vehicles plying on NH 34 used to pass through Siliguri More in Raiganj town. Hundreds of vehicle repair shops and spare parts shops mushroomed along the 2-km stretch.

Everyday hundreds of vehicles used to be repaired. More than 2,000 workers were engaged in this trade here. However, after the opening of Raiganj bypass road, the long route vehicles have stopped plying through Siliguri More leading to a major dent in the livelihood of such shops along with the mechanics.

Kali Poddar, a mechanic, said: “After the opening of the bypass road, only a few local vehicles visit our workshop for repairs. We are not getting regular work. Now I have started looking for an alternative.”

Nibaran Debsharma, a motor garage trader, said: “We can hardly sustain our families. The workers are also not getting regular work in our workshops. We have a plan to appeal to the state government to make an alternative arrangement for us.”

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