Disgruntled locals have been staging protests chanting slogans against police administration and burning tyres to disrupt vehicular movement along the Araniko Highway in Tatopani. [break]
More than a dozen trucks and containers carrying Chinese goods, tourist buses and other vehicles have been stranded on the highway.
The locals have accused the border police office of being unnecessarily strict. The police over the past three months have been adopting measures to check smuggling and other criminal activities near the border.
"Even though we are trying to control crime including cross border smuggling of goods, we did not receive support from local people who are not ready to stop illegal activities," said Basanta Kumar Lama, chief of Sindhupalchowk district police. He said efforts are on to reopen the Tatopani customs office by resolving the problems at the earliest.
Local police has been initiating different measures to control criminal activities through vigorous checking of vehicles, controlling smuggling and enforcing tough traffic rules.
Latest in a series of crackdowns on smuggling, the border police has seized 35 sacks (1,710 kg) of sugar that was being ferried to Khasa on Saturday -- a move that infuriated the locals to rise up against the police.
Tatopani customs has been notorious for smuggling of red sandalwood, parts of endangered animals, and the US dollar to China.
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