Fuels and other essential supplies coming in via the Birgunj-Raxaul border checkpoint were obstructed due to sit-ins staged by demonstrators at the friendship bridge. But the blockade was lifted on Friday under pressure from locals. The move overtakes the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), which is reportedly set to announce its official decision to lift the blockade at its meeting on Saturday.
After 134 days of blockade, there is now movement of vehicles from both sides of the border.
Of late, there has been mounting pressure from different quarters at local level to end the blockade. On Friday, a group led by local transporters had been trying since morning to clear the obstructions for the entry of new tractors through the Raxaul border.
Around noon, almost 100 locals from Indian villages near Raxaul joined the group and attacked the protestors who were few in number. They seized the bamboos and tents erected by the protestors to block the supplies and for use as temporary shelter on the bridge.
"They easily cleared the obstructions. Some of them gathered the hay and mats and set these on fire," said Krishna Kumar, a staffer at the customs clearance section. Kumar, who is one of the eyewitnesses to the incident, told Republica that they cleared the obstructions within 10 minutes and after that dozens of cargo vehicles entered through the border.
"When locals from both sides gathered in the border areas, we also became alert," said Assistant Sub-Inspector Rupesh Kumar Jha, in-charge at the Inaruwa-based police station in the border area. "After around 12:15 pm, there was movement of vehicles from both of sides of the border," he said.
Immediately after the border blockade was removed, UDMF cadres including Jitendra Sonal, general secretary of Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), had taken the border point back under control. However, their blockade could not sustain for longer than 15 minutes because of pressure from locals on the Indian side. Subsequently, vehicular movement across the border resumed.
"The border is a lifeline for hundreds of the poor on both sides. When it was closed, many of them were in great difficulties," said Ganesh Gupta, a Raxaul local.
Local traders in Birgunj have expressed their joy at the removal of the border blockade.
However, there was still some tension since 3 pm between UDMF cadres and those trying to clear the blockade .
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