Rivers flowing across the Nepal-India border often change their course giving rise to dispute regarding the Nepal-India international border at many places in Kailali district.
This issue was raised prominently by the participants in a discussion program on border survey organized here on Thursday, two days before Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli embarks on a state visit to India.
Director General of the Survey Department Ganesh Prasad Bhatta said the changing of their course by rivers flowing across the border is one of the causes of border dispute between Nepal and India.
As per the information shared in the program, the then government in 2045 BS had decided that the course of the rivers flowing along the border itself would be considered the true border between Nepal and India. This decision has created a problem because the rivers flowing across the border often change their course giving reasons for disputes about the border.
For instance, the Mohana river that flows east from west along the Nepal-India border in Kailali district has been frequently changing its course at many places.
This means that the land tilled by farmers from both countries happens to sometimes fall in the territory of Nepal and at other times in the territory of India as the river changes its course, giving rise to dispute over land ownership.
Although there is an agreement between Nepal and India that the land used by the locals from each country would be theirs until the permanent demarcation of Nepal-India border, the Indian side is found breaching this agreement oftener leading to border conflict.
Citizens from both countries living close to the border have been tilling land in each others' countries at several places along the border.
Officials participating in the border survey said that more Indians than Nepalis have been found cultivating the land on Nepali territory.
The task of border demarcation has been going on since decades in keeping with the historic treaties and agreements between Nepal and India.
Chief of the Border Survey Team No. 4, Sudarshan Singh Dhami, on the occasion shed light on the work progress regarding the reconnaissance activities that need to be carried out before conducting the survey.
Dhami said that once the 'recce' works are over the border pillars that need to be repaired will be repaired and new ones constructed where necessary.
It is stated that the Nepal-India Joint Border Team has carried out recce works. The Survey Department has inspected 6082 border pillars, constructed 713 new ones and repaired and reconstructed 1,547 dilapidated border pillars out of the 8,553 border pillars in this connection.
Chief Minister of Province No. 7 Trilochan Bhatta, province parliamentarians, the border officials, security officials and local level office-bearers of Kailali and Kanchanpur districts had participated in the discussion.
