Over 5,000 vehicles stopped at Indo-Nepal border in Sunauli

LUMBINI: Over 5,000 vehicles, including carrier trucks and tankers, have been stranded on the Indian side as India kept the Nepal-India border check point at Sunauli close on Sunday also.

The vehicles, carrying different types of goods from India to Nepal, have queued up in a road stretch of 30 kilometre from south of Sunauli after the Indian Customs Office did not give them clearance to enter Nepal via Belhiya of Bhairahawa.

According to Nepali customs officials, the vehicles were stranded in India after the employees at Indian Customs Office started taking hours to check a single vehicle on the pretext of security.

Chief at Bhairahawa Customs Office, Lavanya Dhakal, said the Indian border security force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) forced some fuel tankers, which had reached the Belhiya check point after clearing customs, to return.

According to him, the state has faced a loss of millions of rupees as the cargo vehicles were not allowed to enter Nepal.

He informed that a total of 94 Nepal Oil Corporation tankers that are ferrying cooking gas and petroleum products from Baitalpur of India were also stopped on Indian side.

Meanwhile, around 20 vehicles, including four  empty ones, two each laden with marbles and tiles, five with fruits and the others with fresh vegetables, entered Nepal today, according to Dhakal.

Earlier, around 350-400 vehicles used to enter Nepal from the customs point every day.