Jharkhand-Bengal border reopened after 24-hour closure

KOLKATA/RANCHI: After remaining closed for around 24 hours, the West Bengal-Jharkhand border has been reopened for the movement of trucks for inter-state trade, officials said on Saturday. The West Bengal government had closed the border on Thursday evening after the release of water by Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) from its dams located along the inter-state boundary with Jharkhand, causing flooding in districts of south Bengal.
"The inter-state border has opened and thousands of goods-laden trucks stranded on NH 2 and NH 6 have left for West Bengal," an Jharkhand government official said.
Truck operators in West Bengal said that the border has opened but it will take some time to clear the 20-25-km-long queue of trucks stranded along the border.
The closure, which was scheduled to continue for three days, led to the stranding of thousands of trucks, including those carrying perishable goods from northern states and even emergency services were affected.
Reacting to the development, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said in a post on X, "Mamata Banerjee caves in to the insurmountable pressure created by the consolidated efforts of @HMOIndia, @NHAI_Official, @MORTHIndia and the resilience of the People of Jharkhand who started agitating against her for blocking the vehicles going from Jharkhand to WB."
"The vehicles which were kept stranded at the entry point of West Bengal have now been allowed to move in. After I highlighted the issue, things started happening quickly and I thank everyone for rising to the occasion and playing their part to end this illegal obstruction," the BJP leader said.
"Mamata Banerjee, now-a-days, has gotten into the habit of taking one step forward and going four steps backward. It started from the RG Kar incident, every step taken by her as an administrator and as TMC Supremo has backfired. It is only the beginning, from now on Mamata Banerjee has to keep retracting and retreating," Adhikari added.
The entry of heavy vehicles from Jharkhand into West Bengal was restricted after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that the flood situation in her state was because of DVC's unbridled release of water from its dams "to save Jharkhand".
Holding the DVC responsible for the "man-made" floods in West Bengal, she said her government would sever all ties with it.
She also accused the Centre of failing to carry out dredging at DVC dams, the release of water from which resulted in floods in several districts of West Bengal.
DVC dams are located at Maithon and Panchet, both along the Jharkhand-West Bengal border.
A DVC official said that water was released under the directive of the Central Water Commission (CWC) in New Delhi, but noted that it has now been halted.
Ruling JMM also made a scathing attack on Banerjee for allegedly sealing the inter-state border.
"The decision of Mamata Banerjee to seal the borders will cost her heavily. If Jharkhand seals it borders, West Bengal will get cut off from western, northern and southern parts of India. I will urge Didi to be sensitive. Goods vehicles are not responsible of bringing flood to your state," JMM general secretary and central spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said during a press conference.
The DVC on Thursday made it clear that the decision to release water was taken unanimously by the water resources departments of West Bengal and Jharkhand and DVC's technical experts committee.