Bihar, Bengal trucks to skip Assam

While Assam limps back to normal after the weeklong spate of anti-Bihari violence, the entire N-E faces a boycott of a different kind. Truck owners of Bihar and West Bengal have refused to ply their vehicles through Assam, virtually cutting off essential commodities to the entire region. The decision comes after ULFA rebels gunned down two truck drivers at Chagaliya inter-state check gate in Dhubri district last week. This apart, there have been allegations of assault of Bihari truck drivers across the state. Secretary of the West Bengal Truck Operators’ Association Satyajit Majumdar said Bihari truck drivers were being targeted in Assam. Trucks from different parts of the country have to pass through West Bengal and Bihar to reach Assam and other N-E states, hence risking life and goods, he said. Assam C M Tarun Gogoi said the government was in touch with the Bihar and West Bengal governments to convince the truck drivers’ associations to withdraw their decision. ‘‘I have been in touch with the governments in the two states to convince the truckers that the situation has improved and that the state government has arranged full security to trucks coming into the region,’’ Gogoi said here today. The chief minister denied shortage of essential commodities at the moment but did not rule out a crisis if trucks did not come in for a longer period. Around 2,000 trucks come into the N-E every day carrying various goods from across the country. Tripura is beginning to feel the pinch with C M Manik Sarkar saying in Agartala that the state might face a shortage of various essential items if trucks did not come in.