Raxaul border on edge as Birgunj curfew enters fourth day

Raxaul: Birgunj city in Nepal remained under curfew on Thursday, four days after restrictions were first imposed. The Parsa district administration has completely banned the movement of people and vehicles.

Officials said the situation was under control but tense with efforts continuing to restore normalcy. Security has been further tightened at the main entry gate to Birgunj from Bihar.Shailendra Kumar Chaurasiya, inspector of the Nepal Armed Forces posted at the entry gate, said only Nepali citizens stranded in India were being allowed to enter Nepal after verification of their citizenship cards.Vehicular movement from the Raxaul border customs checkpost towards Nepal has also been halted.

SSB jawans are guarding the Maitri bridge. A tourist car managed to cross into Nepal from Raxaul but was immediately turned back by Nepal jawans. The car owner was detained by the SSB at Raxaul.Amid the crisis, a campaign is under way to bring back Indian citizens stranded in Nepal. The Indian govt, through its embassy in Kathmandu, has made elaborate arrangements to evacuate pilgrims, labourers and tourists stuck in Nepal.

“By coordinating closely with the Nepal govt, the Indian embassy is identifying and bringing back stranded individuals,” said Dr Sant Kumar of Uttarpur, who reached the Raxaul checkpost on Thursday in a hired private bus from Kathmandu along with 45 other tourists from Uttar Pradesh.The group had travelled to Kathmandu to visit the Pashupatinath Temple. “We feel a huge relief. The situation in Nepal is still not normal.

People there are in deep pain after arson and vandalism,” they said.Similarly, 38 tourists from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka who were stranded at Hithaura near Birgunj were brought back to Raxaul. “We were allowed to go to Raxaul after receiving directions from the Nepal govt,” said Samanna Reddy, a tourist from Andhra Pradesh.At Raxaul, SSB inspector Uttam Kumar Singh said a steady inflow of returnees has started.

“Within one hour of my duty on Thursday, I witnessed nearly 200 Indians coming back from Nepal at the Raxaul checkpost. We are verifying their Aadhaar cards and allowing them entry into Raxaul town,” he said.Despite curfew and heavy police deployment, sporadic incidents of violence were recorded in Nepal on Thursday. The unrest has hit markets on both sides of the border. The Birgunj market in Nepal and Raxaul market in Bihar wore a deserted look, with most shops closed. The few that remained open had almost no customers. Traders said the disruption has caused heavy losses, creating an atmosphere of economic slowdown in the area.