Key Takeaways:
- Kishori Sah of Bara arrested with Indian national Brahma Sah in Bihar
- Police seized four sacks of urea fertiliser and two bicycles near Chamrahia Pond
- Arrest follows recent detention of two Sarlahi farmers with nine sacks
- Farmers caught between shortages in Nepal and legal risks in India
Nepal's fertiliser shortage is leaving border farmers caught in a difficult choice, struggling to find fertiliser at home while risking arrest when they bring it in from India.
Indian police have arrested Kishori Sah, a resident of Feta Rural Municipality in Bara, and Indian national Brahma Sah in Bihar's East Champaran district for allegedly taking urea fertiliser towards Nepal.
According to Indian authorities, the two were intercepted near Chamrahia Pond in Auraiya village under the Adapur police station while travelling towards Nepal on bicycles carrying four sacks of urea fertiliser. Police also seized the two bicycles.
The arrests came shortly after two farmers from Sarlahi were arrested with nine sacks of fertiliser and spent 38 days in an Indian jail before being released.
Border-area farmers have been turning to India for fertiliser amid a severe shortage of chemical fertilisers in Nepal during the rice-planting season. Indian authorities, however, have continued to detain Nepali farmers found transporting fertiliser across the border.
According to the Indian side, agriculture officials and local police had intensified surveillance near Chamrahia Pond after receiving information that urea was being transported towards Nepal. The two men were detained after they were found approaching Nepal on bicycles loaded with fertiliser sacks.
Nepal Agricultural Cooperative Central Federation director Mishrilal Sahani said farmers were facing a "double burden"-being unable to obtain fertiliser in Nepal and facing arrest when they try to bring it from India.
He urged the government to ensure timely and adequate supplies of fertiliser and coordinate with India to resolve the problem.
Indian authorities said further investigation and legal proceedings against the two arrested men are under way.
