Residents of “isolated” villages in Kalimpong district have flagged off concerns following Sikkim’s decision to bar movement of vehicles and people from these areas to the Himalayan state.

C.P. Khatiwara, one of the aggrieved residents, told The Telegraph: “For the past three days, Sikkim has been putting up blockade so that we cannot enter the state. We are fearful of essential supplies running out and more importantly, are at a loss to tackle medial exigencies.”

A cluster of villages like Lingsey, Lingseykha, Chuba and Pithamchen fall within Algaraha (Kalimpong 2 block) of Kalimpong district. However, the distance between these places and the block headquarter Pedong is about 30km, while Rhenock, a town in Sikkim, is merely 3km away.

“The major problem is that there is no bridge to connect with Kagey (another nearby village in Bengal). To be precise, no bridge to connect Lingseykha with Kagey. Only powerful vehicles with four-wheel drive can negotiate the Reshi river,” said Khatiwara.

Any resident of the two panchayats has to first reach Kagey to go to Pedong.

The residents have demanded that a vehicle each from the two panchayats be allowed to move to Rhenock.

Sikkim East district magistrate Raj Yadav said the Sikkim government had made provisions for transport of essential commodities from Rhencok on Wednesday keeping in mind the difficulties the villages in Bengal faced.

According to an order, two designated vehicles would carry essential commodities till the border checkpost of Simana Khola and Haticherey in Arithar.

The order, which was issued on Wednesday, will remain valid till April 15.

Additional reporting by Rajeev Ravidas in Gangtok