Kakarvitta sees impact of people’s curfew in India

Kakarvitta, the major transit point in the eastern belt of Nepal, remained completely clam today due to the influence of people’s curfew observed throughout India in its bid to contain the spread of coronavirus infection in the southern neighbour.

Nepal’s transit point to India remained eerie while short-route transport service in the Kakarvitta area also came to a total halt. The people’s curfew was observed since this morning at the call of the central government of India and all means of transportation including air, railway and land transport services were closed.

Travel Association Jhapa Chair Netra Karki said there was no people’s movement along the Nepal-India border today due to the curfew in India which had ultimately benefitted Nepal when the risk of coronavious infection heightened.

There was no inflow of people from India. The Nepali border security force tightened up security at the Kakarvitta point. Nepali people trying to make no-essential trans-border movements were turned away by the Nepali security forces, said Karki.

According to Chief District Officer Uday Bahadur Rana, they had not sealed the border, but the people’s movement was absent due to the people’s curfew in India. "The right of sealing border points falls under the jurisdiction of federal government," he said.

People residing near the border area said it was an urgent need to close all the borders with India as a preventive measure against the disease which has already spread in one of the most populous country adjoining Nepal.

Mechinagar municipality mayor Bimal Acharya also stressed the need of closing the border. "It is the high demand of the time to close Nepal-India open borders to reduce the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19 in Nepal.” The local government has already drawn the attention of State 1 government towards this end, he added.