A group of truck owners and drivers blocked the Gajoldoba road near Bhorer Alo, the mega tourism hub, on Wednesday, demanding the withdrawal of the restriction on the movement of trucks through the bridge of the Teesta Barrage Project.

Traffic came to a halt for around an hour because of the blockade.

The owners and drivers, under the Banner of the Truck Owners’ Association, Odlabari Tripper Welfare Association, and Siliguri Tripper Welfare Association staged the protest and demanded that their vehicles be allowed to move along the route. They were carrying Triamool’s flags.

“Every day, our trucks are loaded with sand, stones, and pebbles which are legally extracted from different rivers against payment of royalty to the state government. But recently, a height bar has been installed on both ends of the bridge, and thus, the trucks have to take turnaround routes,” said Gobinda Das, the secretary of the Odlabari Tripper Welfare Association.

According to them, though the trucks carrying construction materials are not allowed along the route, other heavy vehicles, including cement-laden vehicles, move through the route.

Sources said as the bridge along the barrage had turned old, movement of such trucks had been stopped by putting the height bars. Vehicles weighing six tons and above are not allowed through the bridge.

“It was the common route to carry the materials to Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, and other areas. The halt in the movement of trucks is affecting hundreds who are associated with the extraction, loading, and unloading of these materials. As trucks have to take other routes, the cost of transportation is also increasing and people buying the materials have to pay extra,” said another truck owner.