Nepal to not enable third nation nationals to journey to India through Kurtha-Jayanagar railroad

Nepal is not going to enable nationals from a 3rd nation to journey to India by rail through the not too long ago launched Kurtha-Jayanagar railroad after Indian officers raised a purple flag, citing safety issues, a media report mentioned right here on Saturday.

“This was agreed while finalising the Standard Operating Procedure [SPA] for cross-border railway operation,” Deepak Kumar Bhattarai, Director General of the Department of Railways, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post newspaper.Nepal and India share a porous border, which has been a hotbed for criminals and terrorist actions.On October 22, India handed over the 34.9km-long cross-border rail hyperlink connecting Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal to the Nepal authorities.The SPA is a doc outlining the procedures to be adopted whereas working the railway service between the 2 international locations.India’s safety concern was one of many explanation why it took so lengthy to finalise the SPA, Mr Bhattarai mentioned.According to the report, Nepal will notify India about passengers boarding the practice to make sure seamless safety clearance on the border.“Based on the tickets issued, we will have to send details of the passengers who are travelling to India,” Mr Bhattarai added.India has been cautious about the potential for a surge in cross-border crimes if third-country nationals are allowed to journey through the Kurtha-Jayanagar railroad, the report mentioned.The Jayanagar-Kurtha part is a part of the 68.7km Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardidas rail hyperlink constructed underneath the Government of India’s grant help of NPR 8.77 billion.The new infrastructure was constructed for broad gauge railway operation by changing the slender gauge, which was stopped greater than seven years in the past.However, there’s nonetheless no readability when the railway service will ultimately resume as a result of the Nepal authorities is but to introduce an ordinance on railway service and the Nepal Railway Company is affected by an acute scarcity of manpower.Four months in the past, the present Sher Bahadur Deuba regime had tabled an ordinance on railway service in Parliament. But it did not get the parliamentary nod.Read | Nepal panel submits report back to govt on border dispute with IndiaRead | China sees Bhutan as the ultimate piece in its South Asian conquests