Guv leaves for Delhi, CM returns to city after monitoring border situation
The Statesman | 12 September 2025While Miss Banerjee flew to Kolkata from Uttarkanya via Bagdogra, Governor Bose departed for Delhi later in the evening to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Vice-President. The Governor had arrived at Bagdogra on Wednesday for an ‘unscheduled’ visit to assess the ground situation at the Indo-Nepal border and held meetings with senior officials before visiting Panitanki on Wednesday afternoon.
Although a helicopter was kept ready near Uttarkanya for the chief minister to visit the border, she decided to return to Kolkata after receiving reports that the situation in eastern Nepal was gradually improving. Miss Banerjee had arrived in Siliguri on 9 September, held meetings with district officials on the Nepal crisis and the rescue of stranded people from Bengal, and attended an official programme in Jalpaiguri on 10 September before returning to Uttarkanya to monitor developments.
North Bengal development department minister Udayan Guha, Siliguri mayor Goutam Deb, and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad Sabhadhipati Arun Ghosh visited Panitanki last evening following CM’s instruction.
Security along the Indo-Nepal border has been tightened, with the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and state police maintaining high vigilance to prevent any illegal crossings, including by jail escapees and political leaders from Nepal seeking refuge in India.
Several oil tankers stranded on the Indian side near Panitanki over the past four days were allowed to proceed to destinations including Biratnagar in eastern Nepal on Wednesday after verification of documents. Travellers from third countries also faced delays at Kakarvitta after agitators torched the immigration office there, but officials have resumed manual processing.
Assistance booths have been set up at key points along the Indo-Nepal border, particularly at Panitanki, to help Indian travellers returning from Nepal with documentation, transport, and medical support. Officials said these kiosks are providing drinking water, emergency first aid, and information on onward travel, as many of the returnees had been stranded or injured during the recent unrest in eastern Nepal.
Meanwhile, cross-border trade is slowly resuming. Several vegetable-laden trucks from Nepal entered India on Wednesday, headed for Bangladesh through transit routes, signalling a partial restoration of normalcy.
Hundreds of Indian nationals — including migrant workers, families who had gone to Nepal for treatment in eye hospitals, and patients recently discharged from hospitals in eastern Nepal — crossed back into India via Panitanki throughout the day. Officials reported that many of them carried visible signs of injury from the disturbances in Nepal and were being assisted with transportation to their hometowns.
