Gangtok, Jul 18 (PTI): In a major relief to truckers ferrying goods from Siliguri to Sikkim, West Bengal police have started providing security to Sikkim registered trucks along NH-10, the sole road connecting the hill state with the rest of the country.

All Sikkim Truck Drivers Association (ASTDA) president Mingma Sherpa today said that West Bengal police started giving escorts from yesterday and till this noon, around 130 goods laden trucks reached Sikkim from Siliguri.

Sikkim-bound vehicles have been ransacked and looted during protests in and around Siliguri from end June after the state government expressed support for the Gorkhaland movement in Darjeeling hills.

The trucks laden with food items and vegetables were meant for all four districts of Sikkim.

Normal movement of escorted trucks is expected to resume now along NH-10, Sherpa said.

The national highway, considered lifeline of the landlocked hill state, connects it to Siliguri and any blockade or interruption on it leads to severe scarcity of goods and stalls passengers' movement.

The Sikkim government has also moved the Supreme Court on July 13 seeking a direction to the Centre and West Bengal government that NH-10, be protected and uninterrupted vehicular movement be ensured in the wake of ongoing agitation for separate Gorkhaland state. However, the apex court is yet to give its verdict.