Nepal to inform India about passengers on board the train to ensure uninterrupted security clearance at the border
Nepal will not allow nationals of any third country to travel by rail to India via the recently launched Kurtha-Jayanagar railroad after Indian authorities raised a red flag citing security concerns, in a media report. Said here on Saturday.
“It was agreed while finalizing the Standard Operating Procedure (SPA) for cross-border railway operations,” said Deepak Kumar Bhattarai, Director General, Railway Department. Kathmandu Post Newspaper.
Nepal and India share a porous border, which has been a hotbed for criminals and terrorist activities.
On 22 October, India handed over a 34.9 km long cross-border rail link connecting Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal to the Government of Nepal.
The SPA is a document that outlines the procedures to be followed while operating a railway service between the two countries.
India’s security concerns are one of the reasons why it took so long to finalize the SPA, Mr Bhattarai said.
According to the report, Nepal will inform India about the passengers on board the train to ensure uninterrupted security clearance at the border.
“Based on the tickets issued, we will have to send the details of passengers who are traveling to India,” Mr Bhattarai said.
India is wary of the potential for an increase in cross-border crimes if third-country nationals are allowed to travel via the Kurtha-Jayanagar railroad, the report said.
The Jayanagar-Kurth section is part of the 68.7 km Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardidas rail link, built under the Government of India’s grant-in-aid of NPR 8.77 billion.
New infrastructure was built for broad gauge railway operations in place of narrow gauge, which had been closed more than seven years ago.
However, there is still no clarity as to when the railway service will finally start as the Government of Nepal is yet to promulgate an ordinance on railway service and Nepal Railway Company is facing acute shortage of manpower.
Four months ago, the current Sher Bahadur Deuba regime introduced an ordinance on rail service in Parliament. But it did not get parliamentary approval.
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