Days after border dispute, Nepal prevents India from carrying out embankment work in Bihar

Days after engaging in a border dispute with India, Nepal has once again contested the international border and laid claim over Indian territory. This time, the area of contention happens to be the Nepal border with the Indian state of Bihar.

In a surprising turn of events, the Nepalese authorities have now stopped Indian officials from carrying out construction work along the border area. The embarkment-related work was being carried out by the Water Resources Department (WRD) of the Bihar state government in what Nepal is now calling 'No Man's Land'.

The incident occurred on June 15 on the banks of the Lal Bakey River in Bihar's East Champaran district, 45 kilometres away from the Motihari town.

As the work was proceeding, Nepalese authorities interfered and prevented the fortification of the embankment from being completed.

The Indian authorities say that Nepal raising this kind of an objection suddenly comes as a surprise as construction work along the river has long been underway, with the embankment itself being constructed many years ago. 

The officials on the Indian side tried to resolve the matter locally but to no avail. The matter has now been reported to the Union Home Ministry and the Indian Embassy in Nepal.

This is the second time that Nepal has laid claim to Indian territory, the earlier instance being where the country miffed India by showcasing the territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani in Uttarakhand as its own in a new map that had been approved in a bill passed by the lower house of the Nepal Parliament earlier this month.

Responding to this development strongly, India had called this action to change territorial boundaries by redrawing the map by the Nepalese government as "artificial territorial extension" and called this enlargement of claims as "unacceptable and untenable."

However, the Indian government had always maintained that the issues can be solved through dialogue. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said that India and Nepal share "roti-and-beti" ties meaning people of both sides share links of bread and family.

However, this latest development is likely to draw the ire of the Indian authorities and push the possibility of talks even further.

Earlier last week, India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said, "We have noted that the House of Representatives of Nepal has passed a constitution amendment bill for changing the map of Nepal to include parts of Indian territory. We have already made our position clear on this matter."