Locals blocking entry point

BIRGUNJ, Dec 12: Call it a premeditated move of sheer coincidence. With politics swirling around the border, imports and exports through Birgunj -- the key trading point for Nepal -- have again been disrupted.

Locals on the Indian side of the border have stopped the movement of Nepali vehicles, accusing them of spreading pollution.

Imports via the Birgunj customs point was affected on Sunday due to a dispute between Raxaul locals and the Indian Railways over the question of air pollution. The locals have obstructed the entry of trucks carrying raw materials into Nepal in order to pile pressure on Indian Railways.

The obstruction in the movement of trucks has left Nepali industrialists worried. The locals of Raxaul have launched an indefinite protest, arguing that the local environment was being polluted by unloadings in Raxwal yards.



Mostly clinker, iron ore, gypsum, slag and coal are imported to Nepal via Raxwal train station by Nepali cement manufacturerrs. Such items are called 'dirty cargo' in Raxal. The locals are protesting the movement of dirty cargo, saying that pollution is caused by these items while being imported to Nepal. Different kinds of food stuff and salt are also imported via Raxaul.



Anil Kumar Sinha, a Raxwal local, said that the imports into Nepal have caused health problems for the locals.



Last year, India imposed a blockade on Nepal because of dissatisfaction over Nepal's new Constitution.



The blockade sparked an economic and humanitarian crisis in Nepal. The nearly seven-month blockade pulled the economic growth rate down to 0.77 percent. While Nepal accused India of imposing the undeclared blockade, the Indian side blamed border hinderances for the blockade. As a landlocked nation, Nepal not only imports all its petroleum supplies from India but over 70 percent of its international trade is through Birgunj customs.