Assam-Tripura Boundary: Misinformation over COVID affected trucker leads to chaos

A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA: The entry and exit point through Churaibari -- the only road connection between Tripura and Assam -- remained closed for several hours on Saturday due to an unwanted dispute among the officials which was ultimately found to be a case of misunderstanding and misinformation.

The dispute started over the whereabouts of a truck driver who was found corona positive during a test at Churaibari while coming to Tripura from Assam. Though the Health workers collected his swab, they did not detain him till the result would be received as the truck was carrying essential items.

Subsequently, the report came as positive; accordingly the Police detained him at Agartala and quarantined him. On the other hand, a rumor spread that the positive-tested driver had fled from a quarantine centre and left from Karimgunj -- which caused all the confusion. The Karimgunj administration immediately picked up a driver of the same name 'Jahirul Islam'.

The drama, however, did not end there as all the top brass of the Karimgunj administration including the Deputy Collector N Bamuthan, SP S Krishna and local MLA Krishnendu Pal rushed to Churaibari and ordered that no vehicle from the Tripura side will be allowed to enter Assam.

Receiving the information, the District Magistrate of North Tripura District Ravel Hamendra Kumar, SP Bhanupada Chakraborty also rushed to Churaibari and held a meeting with the Assam officials and apprised them about the actual happenings.

Meanwhile, as a result of this dispute hundreds of trucks and other vehicles got stranded on the road creating chaos.