Nepal urges India to watch borders

Kathmandu, Mar 9: The Nepal government has drawn India's attention to growing problem of smuggling of explosives and ammunition from across the border urging the country to monitor India-Nepal border points, media reports said here today.

''The government wanted to draw attention of the Indian government over the huge quantity of explosives seized from Indian trucks near India-Nepal border in recent weeks,'' Kathmnandu Post quoted Home Minister Kamal Thapa as saying.

''If we look at the volume and type of explosives that entered Nepal through Sunauli border on February 28, it seems that they were smuggled directly from factories and not from local retailers,'' Mr Thapa said.

''So we have decided to draw attention of the Indian government to the matter publicly so that smuggling will be stopped in future,'' the minister was is quoted as saying.

He said the government might use diplomatic channels to raise the issue if necessary.

The explosives seized by security forces near Sunauli were enough to blow up a big city, Mr Thapa said.

''Some of the devices are completely new and modern,'' he said.

Security forces had seized an Indian truck loaded with 2,500 kg of Gelatin, 475 kg of Neogel-90 (Emulsion Explosive Class-2), 7,500 meters of safety fuse, 39,700 pieces of detonators near the Indo-Nepal border.

''The volume seized at Bahuni near Biratnagar last month was also high,'' the minister said.

UNI