The Centre on Wednesday criticised the West Bengal government for not allowing the movement of essential goods through India’s border with Bangladesh, warning the state of “international implications”, PTI reported. The state’s refusal to allow a passage of movement for goods in spite of repeated directions from the Centre was a violation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the home ministry said.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, claiming directions were issued on April 24 to allow cross-border transportation of essential commodities through India’s borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. It further sought a compliance report to the home ministry.

“In this regard, I am constrained to say that we have not received the compliance report from the state government of West Bengal,” he said. It was reported that goods traffic through border crossings between India and Bangladesh, which fall in the state were been resumed. As a result, a large number of trucks carrying essential supplies to Bangladesh are stranded at different border crossing points, Bhalla added. Meanwhile, several Indian drivers have also been stranded in the neighbouring country as they have not been allowed entry.

The Petrapole checkpost in the Bongaon area of North 24 Parganas district is situated at a distance of 83 km from Kolkata. The checkpost, which is India’s largest land port, was briefly reopened on April 30 after being closed for over a month amid the lockdown, according to The Indian Express. However, the Trinamool Congress-led government shut down the port after government-backed labour unions and villagers said they were afraid of the spreading of Covid-19 from Bangladeshi labourers. Many of them held protests near the area.

The home secretary pointed out that the revised guidelines for the countrywide lockdown categorically state that no state or Union Territory shall stop movement of cargo for cross-border land trade under treaties with neighbouring countries.

“The unilateral action on the part of government of West Bengal to stop the cross-land border movement of essential goods would have larger implications for the Indian government with regard to its legally binding international commitments,” the letter said.

The home ministry reiterated its orders to the West Bengal government to allow essential movement into Bangladesh without any further delay and demanded a compliance report on the same by Wednesday itself.