The governments of Bengal and Sikkim inked a new reciprocal transport agreement here on Tuesday to the relief of transporters of both states who for years have been raising the demand in the wake of the surge in passengers between the states.

The previous agreement in 2007 laid down rules for entry and movement of vehicles from Bengal to Sikkim and vice versa.

On Tuesday, Bengal transport minister Firhad Hakim and his Sikkim counterpart Sanjeet Kharel, along with officials and representatives of state-run agencies, met at a hotel on the outskirts of Siliguri to sign the agreement.

“Bengal always wants smaller states, which are in its surroundings, to flourish. This agreement, we believe, will meet a number of longstanding demands, help in growth of tourism and contribute to the economic development of Sikkim as well as our state,” said Hakim.

Kharel thanked the Mamata Banerjee government for signing the new agreement.

“It will help stakeholders of both Sikkim and Bengal and ease road transport. The Bengal government has also given a free corridor for our vehicles so that they can move from one part of our state to the other using Bengal’s roads,” the Sikkim minister said.

Earlier, vehicles of Bengal got permits from Sikkim for Gangtok, Namchi and Pelling. Sikkim vehicles got permits from Bengal for only Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Siliguri.

However, under the new agreement, all-Bengal permits for Sikkim vehicles and all-Sikkim permits for Bengal vehicles (except for restricted and protected areas), will be issued to facilitate free movement of vehicles of both the states.

“However, the earlier practice, local sightseeing would be carried out by local transporters in both the states,” said a source.

Earlier, commercial vehicles between Gangtok and Jorethang in Sikkim had to face problems as they had to pass a stretch of Bengal but did not have permits. Under the new agreement, this route will be a corridor for such vehicles of Sikkim.

A senior transporter in Siliguri said both the governments met yet another longstanding demand of increasing the quota of permits as the number of vehicles has increased. However, under the new pact, each state will grant permits to 3,000 contract carriages. Earlier, the number was 2,500 for each state.

“This will help in better transport of passengers, goods and petroleum products to Sikkim,” the transporter said.