Nepali vehicles entry to India halted

Rautahat, February 10

After Rautahat District Administration Office barred tempos with Indian number plate from plying, irate Indian tempo entrepreneurs halted the entry of Nepali vehicles into India from today morning.

Temporary bench of Birgunj of High Court in Janakpur had issued a directive banning three-wheel tempos with Indian number plate on 9 November 2019. However, Rautahat DAO had banned three-wheel Indian tempos from plying only yesterday. In response, irate Indian auto entrepreneurs started returning India-bound motorcycles, e-rickshaws, and four-wheelers from Miteri Bridge.

This has hit Nepali people hard. Bikrant Nepal of Gaur Municipality said hundreds of people heading to India for shopping, treatment, and meeting with relatives had suffered the brunt of the court’s decision.

Indian tempos had been coming to Gaur with passengers and Nepali tempos were plying up to India’s Bairganiya with passengers for the past ten years. But the court order has forced passengers to carry their luggage for up to one kilometre, Nepal said.

Indian Tempo Entrepreneurs’ Union member Rahul Sah said they were forced to halt the entry of Nepali vehicles into India on the Gaur-Bairganiya-Miteri Bridge after Nepal imposed a ban on the entry of Indian tempos to Nepal. Sah warned that they would not allow export of anything from their side to Nepal.

Rautahat CDO Basudev Adhikari, however, said that the DAO was holding talks with Indian security forces to resolve the problem. He expressed hope that Nepali vehicles would be permitted to reach the Indian side soon.