KATHMANDU: Nepal has urged India to stop the construction of road parallel to the Nepal-India border, saying it could trigger floods on the Nepali side during rainy season.
The Nepali officials conveyed their concern to their Indian counterparts during the 11th meeting of Nepal-India Joint Border Management Meeting that concluded in Pokhara.
For the ease of transportation and public movement, the Indian side is constructing road that run parallel to the 17,00 km Nepal-India border. Nepali officials say since many rivers flow from Nepal to India, the Indian road project could obstruct the natural flow of these rivers, causing floods on the Nepali side.
The Indian officials said a technical committee has been formed to assess the impacts of the road project on the Nepali towns situated along the border, particularly in western Nepal where the road level reportedly exceeds the level of the arable land on Nepali side by more than a feet.
They said that though they were not the authorized agency to look into the matter, they will communicate Nepal’s concern to the relevant Indian department.
Nepal had already drawn India’s attention to the issue. In response, India had deployed the representatives from the technical committee to study the road being built in bordering Rupaidiha.
“The Indian side took our concern seriously and told us that they will immediately take up the matter to the concerned agency,” said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
India has also agreed to strictly monitor the Nepali nationals boarding flights through its international airports to visit third countries, particularly to the Gulf and African nations.
“Any one who acquires visa in India and wants to travel to third countries must secure no-objection letter from the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi. It is just an effort to curb human trafficking, particularly in the Gulf and some African nations,” Dhakal said.
Nepali side has adopted similar policy for the Indian citizens boarding international flights from Kathmandu.
The policy, Dhakal said, was not targeted against genuine travellers, but only applies to those who attempt to dupe innocent Nepalis by promising them jobs in third countries.
The border management meeting also decided to conduct the meetings of the bordering districts coordination committees more frequently. The chief district officers from Nepal and district magistrates from India have been meeting once every three years to discuss the issues related to border security.
The representatives from Nepal raised the issue of repeated instances of harassment of Nepali citizens by Indian border security personnel and customs officials, to which India said that it has already directed the concerned agencies against such actions and requested Nepal to report such incidents to the Indian embassy in the future.
Nepal and India also held discussion on possible bilateral security assistance to control criminal activities like human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling, and terrorism from the bordering areas.
The two sides identified trafficking of women and children, illegal activities of armed criminal groups, trade of counterfeit currency, management of border pillars, and religious extremism as major areas of concern.
The two neighbours also agreed to make the distribution of SIM cards in both countries more systematic to curb cross-border crimes.
