Uttarakhand

• 17 Apr 2024

Authorities to Suspend Cross-Border Transit

Why in News?

Authorities plan to temporarily close the border between Uttarakhand State in India and Nepal's Sudurpaschim Province from the evening of 19th April as a routine precaution ahead of India's general elections.

• The closure will not impact cross-border emergency services.

Key Points

• An increased security presence will be in place across India with heightened vigilance likely being exercised on both sides of the border.
• Disruptions to cross-border freight and passenger traffic could extend for several days after the closure is lifted as transport companies and customs officials clear their backlogs.

India-Nepal

• Nepal shares a border with 5 Indian states- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Bihar. Hence an important point of cultural and economic exchange.
• The importance for India can be studied from two different angles:
  • Their strategic importance for India’s national security.
  • Their place in India’s role perception in international politics.
• Nepal is right in the middle of India’s ‘Himalayan frontiers’, and along with Bhutan, it acts as a northern ‘borderland’ flanks and acts as buffer states against any possible aggression from China.
• Rivers originating in Nepal feed the perennial river systems of India in terms of ecology and hydropower potential.
• Many Hindu and Buddhist religious sites are in Nepal making it an important pilgrimage site for a large number of Indians.