Bangladesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal orders crackdown on illegal toll plazas in Bangladesh

New Delhi: The newly-formed BJP-led West Bengal government, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, on Wednesday launched a crackdown on illegal toll plazas and unauthorized toll plazas across the state.The directive was issued by Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, whose appointment sparked political controversy as he served as the state’s chief electoral officer before taking charge as the top bureaucrat in the new BJP government.According to the order, all toll plazas, drop gates and roadblocks operating without government approval must be closed immediately. District governments have been instructed to identify illegal toll plazas in their respective areas and take immediate action to remove them.Officials have also been directed to monitor the emergence of any such unauthorized collection centers in future. The order states that all forms of toll collection at illegal toll plazas must be stopped immediately.The state government has also asked the district authorities to prepare a list of all legal and illegal toll centers and submit the report to the deputy minister by 12 noon on May 15.Days ago, Bangladesh said it would not be “intimidated” by the “barbed wire” after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s historic victory in West Bengal, which borders neighboring state.Amid the fierce campaign against the former Trinamool Congress government led by Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee Narendra Modi Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly raised the issue of “infiltration” in the state, referring to illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.