Cooch Behar, Sept. 30 -- Traffic on National Highway 17 was disrupted for nearly an hour on Wednesday after dumper owners, drivers and employees blocked the road at Chakchaka in Cooch Behar, alleging the administration harassed drivers and arbitrarily seized vehicles.
The dumper owners alleged that they were transporting sand from Barobisha with valid documents. Dumper owner Rafiqul Islam claimed that the vehicles had been weighed by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVI) and that the necessary slips had been issued.
"Despite having valid documents, several dumpers were seized from the Dodairhat area of Cooch Behar and taken to the premises of a company in Chakchaka," Islam alleged.
The blockade disrupted traffic between Cooch Behar and Tufanganj towards Assam, leaving commuters and other motorists stranded. Police from Pundibari police station reached the spot following the blockade. An altercation reportedly broke out between the protesters and police initially. Later, Pundibari Police Station OC Mrityunjoy Chakraborty reached the spot and spoke to the protesters. The blockade was withdrawn after he assured them that their grievances would be looked into.
According to the protesters, around 17 vehicles have been seized and their owners were allegedly being asked to pay Rs 70,000 per vehicle for their release. They questioned the basis for the demand and sought clarity from the administration on the rules governing the transportation of sand.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.