Janakpurdham, June 30:

Border security officials of Nepal and India today held a joint meeting here to assess the security situation in the border areas of both the countries. Both sides decided to cooperate more for checking crime in the region and making life safer for the people there. The meeting also decided that more is required to be done to curb cross-border smuggling, although work in that direction was progressing satisfactorily.

The meeting was attended by security officials from Dhanusha, Siraha, Mahottari and Saptari districts from the Nepali side. Security officials from Darbhanga and Madhubani districts and others from Jaynagar represented the Indian side.

The meeting discussed crime in border areas and about increasing patrolling in border areas, among other issues, Dhanusha CDO Ramsharan Chimoria told this daily. “The Indian side has assured us of all possible cooperation for the CA polls,” he added.

CDO Chimoria also said that both sides agreed to greater mutual exchange of information on criminals and gangs operating in the border areas and for swifter and more active mutual cooperation in cracking down on such gangs. He said that while a decision to this effect was taken during the meeting, the list of wanted criminals and gang members was not made available to them.

The meeting decided to cooperate to control damage caused by flood in the border areas and to check soil erosion. It also decided to control timber smuggling and theft of khair wood in the region, said CDO Chimoria.

Asked why red sandalwood smuggling was so rampant in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts, Mahottari customs officer Tulsi Adhikari claimed that smuggling of red sandalwood had not taken place from the region since last October.

SSP Arjun Kumar Mainali, SP Bhog Bahadur Thapa, National Investigation Department official Mahendra Prasad Yadav, APF SP Rajendra Shakya and District Forest Officer Ganesh Roy were among the members of the team of Nepali officials who attended the meet.

The Indian team comprised, among others, by Darbhanga divisional commissioner C Sauta and Madhubani district magistrate Rahul Singh.