West Bengal government launches crackdown on illegal toll booths

The newly formed BJP-led West Bengal government under chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday launched a crackdown on illegal toll booths and unauthorised drop gates operating across the state. The directive was issued by chief secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, whose appointment had triggered political controversy as he previously served as the state’s chief electoral officer before taking charge as the top bureaucrat in the new BJP government. According to the order, all toll gates, drop gates and barricades operating without government approval must be shut down immediately. District administrations have been directed to identify illegal toll collection points in their respective areas and take prompt action to remove them. Officials have also been instructed to monitor the emergence of any such unauthorised collection centres in the future. The order stated that all forms of money collection at illegal toll points must stop immediately. The state government has further asked district authorities to prepare a list of all legal and illegal toll collection centres and submit the report to the under secretary by 12 noon on May 15. The development comes days after Bangladesh said it could not be “intimidated” by “barbed wire” following the BJP’s historic victory in West Bengal, a state that shares an international border with the neighbouring country. During the high-pitched campaign against the previous Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah repeatedly raised the issue of “infiltration” in the state, referring to alleged illegal migration from Bangladesh.