An agreement on mending the 77 border pillars was affirmed during a meeting held at Balrampur of India on Tuesday with the presence of district level security forces from India and district security forces from Dang and Kapilbastu districts. [break]
"The damaged pillars along the border will get a facelift very soon as both countries have shown equal interest in the matter," said Chief District Officer of Dang, Rabi Lal Panta.
Of the border pillars, one has been washed away by a river and several others are in dire need of renovation. Pillar number 602/1 located at Rajpur VDC was washed away by the Khawadi river.
"With one pillar lost, 60 percent of the others need a complete makeover and the rest require simple maintenance," said Panta.
According to the agreement, both countries will be working on the maintenance. "The renovation will start very soon. Currently, the district administration office has been surveying the most badly damaged pillars. After preparing a report, we will forward our proposal to the government," said Panta.
Panta also said that they lack a sufficient budget for the maintenance and the district administration office is urging the central government to provide more money.
Besides the pact on border pillar maintenance, the officials had also agreed to assist each other in curbing illegal activities carried out across the border.
"Security forces on both sides have been alerted and strengthened to control all cross-border illegal activities and now both sides should take action against criminals who shelter across the border," said Pant.
The district administration informed that the meeting between the border security forces, which should have been held every six months, had taken place after a year.
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