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NEPAL-INDIA |
Cooperation Against Illegal Trade Nepal and India’s
senior custom officials agree to control the illegal border trade By A CORRESSPONDENT At a time when the illegal border trade
between Nepal and India has crossed the mark of Rs.30 billions (US$ 500 million), the
officials of the two countries have realized the need to contain it. As Nepal and India share more than 1,700
kilometer long open border demarcated by rivers and mountains, there are severe
difficulties in checking the flow of goods. With the upsurge of Maoist violence, Nepalese
government has already evacuated many police stations along the border paving the way for
criminals to rule there. Participated by Director General of the
Customs Department of Nepal Krishna Hari Baskota and Chief of Revenue and Custom
Department of India, the high level meeting that took place last week in Kathmandu also
agreed to hold the meeting of senior officials in every six months to settle the local
problems. Nepal and India have long been talking
about the need to contain the flourishing illegal trade between the two countries but this
was for the first time the two sides agreed on certain criteria to deal with illegal
border trade. Thanks to the growing illegal trade, there
is huge revenue loss for Nepal. The industrialists and traders have often complained about
the overflow of illegally entered goods in the market of both the countries. Just a few weeks ago, Nepalese and Indian
officials agreed to set up custom zone in safe areas and improve the vigilance in the
borders. As long as Nepalese side does not rehabilitate the police posts along the border,
the illegal trade between the two countries will continue to soar. In a series of efforts aimed at improving
the relations between the two countries, the recent agreement between the senior custom
officials of two countries have paved the way for their coming closer. |
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