NEW DELHI: India and Nepal will begin a joint survey of the ‘no-man’s land’ on the border near Uttarakhand from Thursday. The intention is to remove the farms that have been encroached around the border areas. Once the survey is done, a report will be submitted and encroachments will be removed by the start of November.
This survey will be done under the jurisdiction of the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB). This survey is being done after reports of encroachments surfaced in the Khatima area of Udham Singh Nagar and Champawat district. It is learnt that military and administrative officials from both India and Nepal will meet on Thursday to discuss and demarcate the border areas to resolve this issue before it escalates and becomes a bone of contention between the two nations.
Once the survey is done, steps would be taken to remove the encroachments from the ‘no man’s land’. People from both countries have set up farms by removing nearly 269 pillars around the border. Reports point out that Nepal’s Madhesi community has set up farms around the area. However, no other illegal activity has been reported in these areas.
Nepal shares an international border of 1,751 km with five states — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Sikkim. The border with Nepal in Uttarakhand extends from Dharchula in Pithoragarh district to the border of Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh for 275 km.
Porous border
Nepal shares an international border of 1,751 km with five states — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Sikkim. The border with Nepal in Uttarakhand extends from Dharchula in Pithoragarh district to the border of Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh for 275 km. In 1950, the Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty was signed for the free movement of citizens of both countries. With this, the border became “unique” as people from both sides can cross it at any point, said Narayan Bhatt, a litterateur from Champawat.