Despite all efforts to calm down tension on the borders, Nepal provoked India again on Friday by starting to encroach on Indian territory in Pantoka area of Raxaul in Bihar. It has also set up 5-8 tents here on the Indian side and each tent can accommodate 4-5 guards of Nepal Armed Police. Few days ago, the Nepalese police also set up a watchtower on the Indian soil but was removed immediately after intervention of Indian authorities.
The villagers of Pantoka have claimed that their ancestral lands have been encroached upon by the neighbouring country. At least 50 residents of this village have furnished land records but when they go to their land, they are beaten up and threatened by the Nepal police.
Local resident Chand Mani Ram, who showed documents of his land, recalled with horror how his daughter was taken to the police station on the other side and when he went to save her he too was beaten up by the police. “The land is our ancestral property and belongs to our forefathers and I have all the relevant papers for the same but the Nepali armed force never listens to us. We have been running from pillar to post for justice but no one is bothered about our plight.”
Islam Miyan also had the same story. He made a living with a small patch of land that was now under illegal occupation of the Nepalese.
As India continues to share tension with China, it is now being alleged that Nepal is acting on the behest of China. Deepak Awasthi, a local resident of the area informed that the problem got compounded during lockdown and largely because of China. He said that during lockdown the borders were sealed and gradually the Nepalese police set up watchtowers and small posts all along Indian land bordering Pantoka village which is also India’s last village on the border.
The problem possibly emanates from the meandering of the Sariswan river. The river that originates in Nepal enters Indian territory near pillar number 393. The meandering of the river has been accentuated in the recent past and it is gradually gobbling up land on the Indian side while the land left on the other side of the border is gradually being claimed by the Nepalese. Some of the pillars beyond pillar number 393 are missing and locals on the Indian side say that they were systematically destroyed by the people on the other side. Pillars also got washed away in the meandering course of the river. The demarcation of the boundary however can be made out even from the existing pillars yet the Nepalese have chosen it conveniently to take the course of the river as the boundary line. The river however has in the last 50 years changed its course drastically.
Meanwhile, the authorities don’t want to talk on the issue. Sashastra Seema Bal had a meeting with its counterpart recently. After that the watch tower which was put in place on Indian land on the other side of the border was removed by the Nepal Armed police but 8 small tents still exist across the river and also within the Indian territory.