Ranaghat BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar on Thursday got police in Nadia’s Santipur to seize and book a dozen trucks plying on NH12, which connects south Bengal to the state’s northern districts, with overloaded consignment.

Sarkar was on his way to a BJP programme in Nadia’s Gangnapur around 11am on Thursday when he was caught in a massive traffic jam on the highway near Santipur.

When he found that slow-moving overloaded trucks, which were travelling from Jharkhand’s Pakur to Calcutta with stone chips, were the reason for the traffic snarl, he got down from his car and intercepted a few of those vehicles. Seeing their MP in action, local BJP workers also joined him. Sarkar called the police to the spot and got the trucks booked for overloading.

“The police were not performing their duty and I had to act in public interest. Travelling on NH12, particularly between Santipur and Jagulia, has become a nightmare because of the callous approach of the police that allows truckers to ply overloaded vehicles on the route. The nexus between the police and truckers is damaging the roads,” Sarkar said.

Sources said after intercepting five trucks, Sarkar called Santipur police who seized a few more trucks and charged them.

Political observers said given the evolving situation in the state in the run up to the Assembly elections, it was significant the police responded with such alacrity to the call of a BJP MP and seized 12 stone chips-laden trucks and charged them for overloading.

“I was shocked to see overloaded trucks crawling on the NH12 bypass. The overloaded trucks were damaging the highway but there were no cops to act against them. While the road is getting damaged, the police look the other way and earn from the truckers,” Sarkar said.

Senior officers of Ranaghat police district preferred to remain tight-lipped about the MP’s allegations and intervention.

However, a police officer claimed that traffic congestion on NH12 was largely because of poor road condition. “We regularly file cases for overloading but trucks ply slowly on the stretch because it is filled with craters and drivers are afraid that vehicles could overturn,” the cop said.

Earlier on Wednesday night, Sarkar got caught in a jam on Santipur bypass of NH12 while returning home. An overloaded vehicle had broken down and it led to the traffic congestion on the highway. Sarkar got out of his car and created a passage with the help of his security personnel to move forward.

Sarkar alleged that the police were missing from action despite the chaos on the highway.

Although several commuters welcomed the MP’s initiative, the Trinamul leadership in Nadia dubbed it as a “road show” to grab people’s attention.

A PWD engineer said that overloading increased stress on the road and damage set in early.