SSB soldiers have destroyed around 250 pillars erected for barbed wire fencing at the Gayatri community forest in Gulariya Municipality of Bardiya. The demolished fence was built 15 meters north of the Nepal-India border.[break]
“The fence was clearly on the Nepali side,” said a member of Gayatri CFUG. “This is an excess of the Indian force.” He said the demolition of the Nepali fence might be a plot of the SSB to further encroach on the Nepali territory.
According to Area Forest Office, Khairapur, around 200 pillars have been uprooted and 40 pillars destroyed by the SSB. Assistant Forest Officer Ram Jatan Shah said the fence was built with approval from the forest office.
“The fence was built also to protect the locals going into the forest area from the Indian SSB,” said Laxman BK, chairman of Gayatri CFUG. “The people are now terrified.”
The locals have urged the administration to protect them from the excesses of the Indian security force. Chief District Officer of Bardiya Yagya Raj Bohara said he has already instructed the local police to look into the matter. “We will try to sort out this problem very soon,” he said.
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