India and Nepal dispute over just 10 yards of land: ground report

Posted on 27th Jun 2020 by rohit kumar

"Our generations passed away. We grew from child to old age. But today never realized that it is the border of two countries. People on both sides have daily visitation, transaction, food, and drink. Is. Relationships are there. But do not know! Now, who got noticed? And see! If there was a quarrel, then for the place where there was a common market on both sides. These days it is all over. It is closed, now the conversation has also stopped. People have started thinking of each other as enemies. They do not mix eye to eye. "

 

Lakshmi Thakur, an elder of Guabari village of Dhaka block, situated on the Indo-Nepal border, about 47 km from Motihari city in Bihar, was speaking about the land dispute, which has caused an atmosphere of tension between the two countries.

 

Nepal objected to the construction of an embankment being built by India on the banks of the Lalbakeya River near the border with East Champaran in Bihar and claimed that the embankment is being built on Nepal's land. Due to this, the construction of the embankment has stopped.

 

East Champaran District Headquarters Kapil Ashok told the BBC, "About 99 percent of the embankment construction was completed. But now we have to stop part of the last part due to the objection of the Nepalese administration. We understand that the pillars here - There has been a dispute over there. "

 

The DM further said, "Initially all efforts were made to resolve the matter by negotiating at the local level, but still the matter could not be worked out. Now a new survey will have to be done. This is the issue of the international border, so we have talked about the state of things and the state Has conveyed to the Central Government. Now they have to decide further. "

 

This latest controversy has arisen when the Parliament of Nepal on June 13 approved a new map of the country and in that map, three areas Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani were declared their share.

 

Apart from this, the Parliament of Nepal has also passed a new citizenship law, which has also led to bitterness in the relationship between the two countries. According to the new law, even after an Indian girl gets married in Nepal, she will get Nepalese citizenship only after seven years.

 

In East Champaran, the work of constructing an embankment on the banks of the Red Bakaya River on the border of India and Nepal has been stopped since June 15.

 

According to a Times of India report that day, CDO Basudev Ghimire of Nepal's border district Rauthat had brought other officers and security forces and asked Ranbir Prasad, an engineer from the Water Resources Department, Bihar, to stop work. The Nepalese administration claims that the embankment has been constructed on the border between Pilar 346/6 to Pilar 346/7 on "No Men's Land".

 

On Wednesday afternoon, we reached the place where the construction of the embankment has stopped. This embankment, built on the banks of the Lalbakeya river coming from Nepal and found in Bagmati, is 2.5 km long.

 

The place where work has stopped, on one side of the embankment is the village of Bala Guabari, on the other side is Banjaraha village of Nepal.

 

The village of India is closer than the embankment. The doors of some houses also open on the embankment. The cattle of some houses are also found tied on the embankment.

 

On the other hand, Nepal's village Banjaraha is at some distance from the border. Shops and houses are also about 25 meters from No Men's Land.

 

According to the rules, the land at 9.1 meters right and 9.1 meters left from the boundary line is called No Men's Land.

 

Pillars are buried on the border. But the place which has been claimed from Nepal, the pillar is not in its place.

 

DM of East Champaran, Kapit Ashok, says, "After the objection of the Nepali administration, a joint survey was conducted at the local level. That was also agreed. But, then there was lockdown. When the work started again after the lockdown So he again objected. So the work had to be stopped. "

 

According to Nepal's claim, is the embankment constructed in "No Men's Land"?

 

DM Tophat Kapil Ashok said "I cannot say anything about this. Now it will be clear only after the survey".

 

However, initially, the survey conducted at the local level was followed by a bamboo peg, which was less than 9.1 meters from the embankment, to identify Pilar.

 

Showing the bamboo pegs, Lakshmi Thakur of Guabadi says, "Measure 10 yards from here. Out of this, 2 yards will be more or less. Some years there will be floods and the pillar must have moved. The land of the people of the village. Had it been the case, it would have been over by now. But it is a matter of countries. "

 

India breaks consent - Nepal

Although entry into Nepal is prohibited at this time, but seeing us talking to the people of India on the border, the people sitting in the market towards Banjaraha village in Nepal, gestured across the border.

 

They started talking about their relations with the people of India. He alleged that the Indian media was not keeping the side of Nepal properly.

 

When we wanted to know their side, Banuraha chief Big Sah says, "They should build their dam, we have no problem with that. But they also have to take care of what we will do when the water moves towards us in the rainy season." Where will you go? "

Bigu Sah further adds, "It was agreed that two channels would be built in the embankment to release the water. But not a single channel was built. Such a high dam was built from above. Now if it rains, then think about our situation Will happen."

 

Senior journalist of Motihari, Chandrabhushan Pandey, also says that the agreement is made and the channel is formed.

 

He said, "When the survey was done at the local level, there was agreement on the land. But there was another record on that agreement, that was to create a channel for the flow of water. But the dam was built but not the channel I think Nepal has the biggest objection with this and they got a point after pillar missing in Guabadi. "

 

First claim

The work of repairing the embankment was being done under the pre-flood preparations.

 

Sanjay Kumar Jha, Minister of Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, said on Monday that such an objection has been lodged by Nepal in the repair and construction work of not only one but three embankments.

 

Since the work of repairing the embankments is involved in the preparations before the flood. But no such objection was lodged by Nepal nor was any such step ever taken.

 

According to reports, the last time such claims were made on behalf of Nepal, but only then the local level officials had resolved the matter by talking.

 

Akram, who lives in the adjacent border village of Chandanbaru, tells the BBC, "Never before had Nepal taken such a stern step. This embankment was built long before. And every year before the flood, the repair work goes on."

 

According to Akram, the real resentment of Nepal is due to the dam being built and the channel not being built, as they have started threatening floods. In the last flood, the entire area was submerged. People on the Indian side may get relief due to the formation of an embankment, but due to lack of channels, the problems of people on the Nepal side will increase.

 

But why not build a dam? In the reply, DM Apex Kapil says, "The responsibility of constructing the channel was with the Water Resources Department, its engineers and contractors. Due to the lockdown, the work of the channel was not completed."

 

People from Nepal also gave tea during talks and talked a lot. But as soon as we took out the camera and mic to record them, the Nepalese sentinel soldiers came and stopped. He told his people to shut up and told us, "You go back after drinking tea."