Sarpang Dzongkhag sealed its Bhutan-India border gate from March 23 in a bid to prevent COVID-19 outbreak. However, despite the deployment of 24/7 surveillance teams at several entry points, controlling the movement of people across the porous border is a growing challenge.
Seven Bhutanese were arrested in the last three days for visiting Tokura Village in neighboring Assam, located half a kilometer below the Gelegphu- Sarpang highway.
Police and surveillance teams caught them in three separate incidents. On March 30, Gelegphu police caught two women with tobacco products on their way back to Gelegphu from Tokura village. On April 2, two women and two men were caught trying to smuggle in cigarettes and tobacco.
In a separate incident on March 31, a Bhutanese man was caught returning from Tokura Village.
Earlier this morning, in the border area along Datgari, the surveillance team caught one Indian citizen trying to enter Gelegphu through the illegal route. The man was sent back.
According to the police all the six Bhutanese have been quarantined. Police said that the five who were arrested for illegal possession will be dealt as per the law after completing the 21 days quarantine.
Police have advised people to refrain from moving across the border. Besides the possible threat of coronavirus infection, running into wild elephants at night is another risk. There have been reports of a herd of elephants near the Gelegphu airport area.
Karma Wangdi
