SARBHANG

Not even a week has passed after people recovered from a series of strikes in Assam that the crucial Gelephu-Samdrup Jongkhar-Phuentsholing road has been blocked again since yesterday morning by another strike.

The 24-hour strike – called by some separatist groups in Assam on December 21 and 22 – has left many vehicles stranded in Gelephu. Hence, it has severely affected transport operators, travellers and the business community.

Oranges from Gelephu depot could not be exported yesterday and the picking of oranges in the orchards has been halted.

The otherwise busy Gelephu auction yard looked deserted. Most of the parties who usually come to the auction are from Assam. Farmers and retailers from Gelephu and Sarpang sell their cash crops like oranges, ginger and cardamom here.

However, the transporters’ loss has been a boon on Gelephu hoteliers. The hoteliers, who otherwise complain of low business, are enjoying a boom this winter.

Travellers, who arrive late afternoon, may not find a hotel room because more of their ilks are already stranded here. “I checked in almost all the hotels here but they are already packed,” a young lady, who fortunately met her old friend in town, told BHUTAN TODAY.

“I was not aware of the strike in Assam and now I am stranded here paying for food and lodging for two extra days,” another traveller heading towards Samdrup Jongkhar said. There should be a public information system through the national media to inform people about a possible strike beforehand, he suggested.

Winter usually boosts the hotel business in Gelephu. But this time the business is very good, a hotelier admitted. A hotel manager Dal Bahadur said the business is ‘good’ this season.

Not only is the highway important for travellers and transport operators alike, it is the lifeline of all the southern districts. Any prolonged strike would dry up supplies of necessary food items like vegetables, fish and grocery items.

About 400 people are estimated to be travelling the Assam route every day.

The India state of West Bengal is also facing the same fate due to the serial strikes. A 24-hour bandh called by anti-Gorkhaland movement groups has also affected Bhutanese.

The strike has come amidst the crucial tripartite talks between the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, the central and the state government of Bengal.

Observers say more frequent disruptions on the Assam highway are expected this year. Government and the major political parties have ruled out the formation of separate states in Assam and Bengal, denying the demands of various tribal and militant outfits.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary, Prakash Karat ruled out the formation of separate state of Bodoland in Assam while addressing a political rally in Guwahati on Sunday. But Bodo People’s Front (BPF) is currently ruling the autonomous Bodo Territorial Council (BTC) of Assam.

Similarly, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee rejected the formation of Gorkhaland ahead of the tripartite talk in Darjeeling scheduled for yesterday, Indian media has reported.

Unfortunately, Assamese politics gets heated mostly in winter, the busiest season of the year for business community and transporters.

While Bhutanese citizens are suffering due to the external political situation, which they have nothing to do with, the issue it seems has caught the least attention of the government of Bhutan. None of the five sessions of parliament have anything to discuss on the issue, which has potential to affect the Bhutanese economy.

The strikes have been triggered by the recent decision of government of India to split Andhra Pradesh to carve out a new state called Telengana. Therefore, trouble riddled Assam, it seems, will continue to suffocate Bhutanese citizens with its continuing political unrest.

Although there is no way that a diplomacy between the two countries could solve the problem, the only way forward to get rid of the impact of Assam strikes is to go ahead with an alternative interior highway, observers say.

By M B Subbain Gelephu in Bhutan Today

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