DHANGADHI, Dec 12: A joint border survey team formed to fix border pillars along the Nepal-India border is yet to fix a total of 329 pillars in Kailali district.

The Nepali side has failed to take a stand against the encroachment by India, and after protest from the locals, the joint team failed to reconstruct the pillars, according to locals. 

Locals say that Nepali officials have failed to take a stand against the encroachment by the Indian side. Kailali's Phoolbari and Bhajani belong to Nepal, but the joint team had agreed to place those places in the Indian side, according to a local.

“The areas belong to Nepal. The dispute rose after the Indian side tried to encroach upon Nepali land. The joint team had also recognized Phoolbari and Bhajani as a part of India. After this, the locals protested against the Indian side,” said Mahesh Gole, a resident of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-14.

The Indian side has encroached upon Nepali territory belonging to the locals of Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Three years ago, a joint border survey team from Nepal and India had started to construct damaged pillars on the border areas. It had also started to build new pillars.

The team is yet to start its work in disputed areas like Bhajani and Phoolbari. The team has also failed to work in several places of Kanchanpur district because of border dispute.

In the last three years, two teams were formed and a new team will be formed this year to repair and construct pillars on the border areas.

In the first year, Sudarshan Dhami, the then chief survey officer, led the Nepali side. Likewise, in the following year, the then chief survey officer Janak Raj Bhatta led the Nepali side.

The joint team builds pillar on the border areas in accordance with the map of both the countries, and by analyzing damaged or uprooted pillars.

Meanwhile, the Indian side has also uprooted pillars along the Indo-Nepal border in Kanchanpur to encroach upon the Pyaratal Lake, according to locals.

The Indian side destroyed pillar number 195, and removed pillar number 196 in Punarbas Municipality-9 to encroach upon Pyaratal, which belongs to Nepal, said Ward Chairman Narayan Prasad Jaisi.

Locals say that India has removed the border pillars to encroach upon and exercise its exclusive rights over the Pyaratal Lake, which is near Dudhuwa National Park.

The Indian officials have also stopped the locals from fishing in Pyaratal, claiming that the lake belongs to India. Locals say they are hit hard by the Indian move, as the lake is the source of water for the locals in the area.

 
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