Illam, March 5: The immigration office established three years ago at Pashupatinagar, the only convenient Indian border crossing in the eastern hills of the country, is yet to be operational. The office, which was inaugurated by the then home minister has had zero work so far.

On April 28, 2019, after the pressure and waiting of locals, the government opened an immigration office here to facilitate the movement of tourists from third countries from Pashupatinagar. The then home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had inaugurated the immigration office. He had said - “This gate of East Pahad is not only for tourists; it is the gate of development and prosperity of the country.” However, three years down the road, the employees required by the office have almost been recruited, but the office is yet to provide any services to anyone.

The immigration office of Pashupatinagar has no work as India is yet to establish a counterpart office on its side of the border. Since there is no office on the Indian side, tourists from third countries who want to visit Nepal from India and those from third countries who want to go to India from Nepal have to suffer. Tourists who have reached here are forced to walk across the border to Jhapa.

The office has a head of branch officer level. Since there is no work here, he is working at the Kakarbhitta office. There are positions for two Naib Subba (non gazetted first-class officers), one Purchaser, one Assistant Computer Officer, one Assistant Accountant and two Office Assistants. Most of these positions have been filled. However, the office is yet to begin providing its services.

Head of the office, Rewanta Bhattarai, said that no work could be done at the immigration office in Pashupatinagar because an office of a similar nature was not opened on the Indian side. "We have no problem working from the Nepal side, but due to the lack of an office on the Indian side, tourists have not been able to get services," he said.

He said that he has repeatedly informed the Department of Immigration about the office being lefty without any work. "We have suggested to take the initiative to open an office on the other side of the border, or to change the structure of the office on the other side, as the office on the Nepali side of the border will not get any work until India, too, establishes an immigration office on its side of the border," he said. 

Kamal Prasad Pandey, information officer at the immigration department, also said that the immigration office at Pashupatinagar was out of business as there was no immigration office across the border on the Indian side. "We have been trying to open an office on the Indian side, but it has not been successful," he said.

In terms of geography, there is no easy route like Pashupatinagar in the eastern hills. That's why the locals have been taking initiatives for a long time to open this border and establish immigration. Local leader Milan Chhetri said that the immigration department was opened after a lot of pressure from the local people and it is sad that there are still no jobs for the locals of eastern hills. "It is ironic that the immigration office that we have struggled to open is left without work," he said.

Darjeeling, a popular tourist city of India, which is considered as the 'Queen of Hills', is about 50 km from here. Millions of tourists from third countries who come to Darjeeling every year are returning from Pashupatinagar as they cannot enter Nepal. After the immigration was opened in Pashupatinagar, it was hoped that tourists coming to Darjeeling would get their entry permit (visa) for Nepal from here.

According to the immigration department, immigration here can work with the issuance of visas of 15, 30 and 90 days to tourists from third countries. This office is assigned the responsibility of issuing visas on arrival to foreigners who have obtained an entry permit, issuing departure permits to foreigners departing through this border, keeping up-to-date details of foreigners' arrivals, and sending immigration records to the department every week.

The office will serve the tourists visiting the eastern district including Ilam, Jhapa, Panchthar, Taplejung, Dhankuta, Tehrathum, Sankhuwasabha. Ran Bahadur Rai, mayor of Suryodaya, says that if immigration is implemented in Pashupatinagar, a large number of tourists coming from there (Darjeeling, India) can be sent to the eastern hills. He said that since Suryadoya Nagar has been declared a tourist town by the provincial government, opening immigration here will help not only Suryodaya and Ilam, but all the districts of the eastern hills.

The businessmen who bring tourists to nearby Darjeeling also have a 'Nepal tour' package for half an hour. Since Indian tourists do not need a visa, they come to Pashupatigar in half an hour, shop and return. Because the currency is cheap, tourists from third countries who want to visit the beautiful places of hilly districts like Ilam at a lower cost than India, come back all the way to the border.

 
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