Alipurduar, 18th December: The royal administration of Bhutan has conceded to the residents’ appeal and reopened the gates of Bhutan in the Jaigaon Chinese Line area of Alipurduar district at 11 o’clock after three years. In attendance were, Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Karma Jugmi of Phuentsholing of Bhutan, Assistant Commandant of Jaigaon Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) of the 53 Battalion, and other jawans. Additionally, the Pradhan of the Jaigaon area and members of the Zilla Parishad along with the residents were also present.
According to reports, the Chinese Line Gate is only open for pedestrians travelling to work. Apart from this, the SSB checkpost has been constructed adjacent to the Gate. As a result, the SSB personnel will be closely monitoring the gate.
It is to be noted that during the lockdown, the Chinese Line Bhutan Gate was shut down for a prolonged time. As a result, the various shops and stores in Jaigaon had also closed down. However, the main gate to enter Bhutan was reopened last year in September, and the reopening of the Chinese Line Gate was put on hold. This led to a lockdown-like situation in the area.
On this day, the locals were elated by the reopening of the gate and anticipated that the prevailing situation would gradually be restored to normalcy.