new Delhi: Stones were pelted from across the border at Indian workers constructing a security wall along the Kali river between India and Nepal, an official said on Tuesday, following which the district administration took up the issue with Nepali authorities.
District Magistrate Reena Joshi said that the incident took place on Monday in Dharchula in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.
He said that those who pelted stones also raised slogans.
Joshi said he has spoken to the Nepalese authorities about the incident and added that they have assured action against those involved.
This was the second incident of stone pelting on Indian workers from across the border. Another alleged incident happened on 4 December.
Local residents said they are demanding the withdrawal of the case registered in India against Nepali “miscreants” who pelted stones at Indian workers on 4 December.
He alleged that the stone-pelters were linked to the Viplav faction of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Their intention is to disrupt the construction work on the river bank.
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Officials had earlier said that Nepali officials were initially opposed to the construction of the protection wall due to fears that it would divert the river’s flow towards Nepal, increasing the risk of flooding.
However, Nepal later agreed to allow the construction after Indian officials persuaded that precautions would be taken to ensure that Nepal’s interests were not harmed.
On 4 December, some “miscreants” from Nepal threw stones at Indians working on the wall in the Ghatkhola area. This incited tension between the people of the two countries, with Indian traders blocking the border bridge with Nepal for almost two hours.
There was a need to build a protection wall on the banks of the Kali river after the 2013 disaster, which caused massive flooding in the Ghatkhola area.
An engineer from the irrigation department said, “We have already constructed 332 meters of the 985-metre protection wall. If the construction is allowed to go on peacefully, we will construct the rest before the start of the next monsoon.”
