Hundreds of houses in no man's land

MORANG, July 24: Hundreds of houses have sprung up in no man´s land at the Nepal-India border in Morang district. Encroachment is happening from both sides of the border in violation of the rule which disallows land encroachment in no-man´s land.



Locals have also said that even temples are now being built in the areas. “The trend of building houses in no-man´s land is on the rise as one can claim that he is from either side and people from both sides can enjoy facilities,” Kamal Kishor of Buddhanagar-6 said. [break]



According to him most of the encroachers from Nepali side are landless people. “But those from Indian side constructing concrete buildings seem to be from well-to-do families,” he said pointing to a house being built by one Rajendra Yadav of India.



Some 369 families have built houses in no-man´s land, out of which 186 families are Nepali and 183 Indians. But locals claim that the figure is much higher as just in one area there are more than 100 houses now.



Locals have also said that the Indian ration card system is prevalent in no-man´s land and even Nepalis are using the card. Also, many Indians now possess Nepali citizenship cards. This means that the families are using facilities from both sides. One local said, “During elections, a huge number of encroachers are casting votes on both sides.”







Yadav Bista, a local of Sijuwa, said, “We have never seen any government monitoring team visiting Bardanga where dozens of new houses have been built in no-man´s land.”



A parliamentary delegation had said last year that no-man´s land is “not free” from encroachers from both sides. The settlements can be removed if both sides agree.



Chief District Officer Suresh Adhikari said that there is no trouble in removing the settlers if both the governments agree. “I will send a technical team to remove settlers from our side,” the CDO said.



40 pillars missing



According to DSP Bhola Giri of Armed Police Force deputed at border administration, some 40 pillars of the total 124 erected at various border points in Morang are now missing. Border police has also said that most pillars in the Bardanga VDC area are lost.



According to police, 27 pillars from Bardanga, 8 in Biratnagar, 3 in Rangeli and two in Jurkiya are missing. Of the remaining pillars, 18 are in dilapidated conditions. “If not maintained, these 18 pillars will also be lost soon,” DSP Giri said.

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