Nepal stops anti-erosion work by Indian experts

MOTIHARI/BETTIAH: Amid the India-Nepal tensions over the neighbouring country adopting a new map that claims certain Indian territories, local issues continue to pinprick cross border relations in Bihar.
After the killing of an Indian national near Sitamarhi border on June 12, Nepal has stopped repair and other anti-erosion works on the right embankment of Lalbakeya river between pillars 346 and 347 that demarcate the India-Nepal border in Guawari village in East Champaran district.
Basudeo Ghimire, chief district officer (CDO) of Rautahat district of Nepal bordering East Champaran along with other Nepali officials and police force reached the embankment repairing site at Guawari on June 15 and asked Ranbir Prasad, executive engineer of the drainage division of Bihar’s water resources department to stop work.
The Nepalese official claimed that the embankment was being constructed on no man’s land. Guawari village is located 47km north-east of Motihari, East Champaran’s district headquarters.
“The CDO of Rautahat district, Ghimre, obstructed the work when the repairing of embankment was going on near Guabari in 2019 as well and it was agreed upon by officials on both sides that a fresh measurement of the area of no man’s land near 347 number pillar would end the impasse,” executive engineer Prasad said.
Anil Kumar, ADM (disaster management) of East Champaran told this newspaper on Saturday that East Champaran officials and the CDO of Rautahat along with Nepalese officials had measured the area of no man’s land in March and there was no dispute and all objections of Nepal side was removed in a cordial manner.
Rautahat CDO Ghimre, on the other hand, said at that time his concern was to save a village named Banjarawa on the Nepal side from the flood waters of Lalbakeya. He requested Bihar government officials to make a channel towards Banjarawa to drain out flood waters in rainy season. He also requested not to raise the embankment height towards Nepal side.
“We did not raise the height of embankment on Nepal side but the channel has not been built till now. This is the bone of contention,” Ghimire said.
East Champaran DM Shirshat Kapil Ashok said he has sent a report to the Bihar government, Union ministry of home affairs and the Indian consulate general at Birgunj in Nepal. He said the Nepal authorities have objected to the repair of embankment in a 500m area. “The major repairing works have been completed and only guarder fittings and pucca road construction has to be done as the monsoon has set in and the region is flood prone,” Ashok said.