Local authorities have made entry of Indian number plate vehicles in the border towns of southern Nepal stricter these days in view of the growing number of violations of customs rules by foreign vehicles.
According to provincial and local authorities, stricter monitoring has become unavoidable as the unauthorised entry of Indian-registered vehicles has surged of the late, raising concerns about security, tax evasion and various illegal activities, said assistant Chief District Officer of Sarlahi district, Hom Prasad Ghimire.
We have not introduced any new regulation, we already have rules regarding this, he pointed out. However, for the past one week the implementation of the rule has been made stricter in view of growing number of unauthorized entry of foreign vehicles in the border towns of Nepal, he said.
It is compulsory to register Indian number plate vehicles and to pay certain fee for their movement, he maintained. Our concern is increasing number of of illegal activities and growing insecurity due to the unauthorizied entry of vehicles from across the border, he pointed out.
An all party meeting was also held recently and discussed the matter with the participation of local representatives from Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the Janata Samajwadi Party, he said. During the meeting they underlined the need for better management of entry of foreign vehicles into Nepal while taking into consideration the convenience of the local people, he maintained.
There is a provision under which Indian vehicles can freely enter the border and stay for 24 hour without paying any charges so that the local people can benefit and enjoy shopping in the nearby market without any hassle, he pointed out. The move is aimed at regulating the entry of foreign vehicles rather that restricting them, he added.
