Raniganj (Nepal), May 16: Nepal’s man of the moment, Prachanda, may be pushing for a review of the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty, but the people, especially those living along the country’s soft border, seem happy with the present status quo.

Rice, wheat or salt or the life-saving drugs, Nepal depends on its neighbour for most items.

A visit to Raniganj and Treveni under Nawal Parasi district via Valmiki Nagar (West Champaran) border (after crossing the Gandak barrage) makes the lopsided “symbiotic” ties even clearer.

Near the border the business of liquor served in thatched bars flourishes, with residents, especially women, serving as bartenders-cum-owners, eagerly awaiting the India customer.

The smell of fried fish caught from the Gandak and the Naryani greets customers, along with cheep local hooch and “desi” international brands.

It is a congenial atmosphere till one mentions the word “restriction” along the Indo-Nepal border. Old-timers reminisce how in the 1980s when India laid some restriction along the border the price of salt shot up to Rs 80 per kg in Nepal.

A shopkeeper at Triveni said: “We have alcohol and vegetable oil to offer to our neighbours. For the rest, we look up to India.”

He clearly explains that it would do his new government a world of good if it concentrates on “production”, rather than going in for “drastic changes in relations with India”.

Through the conversations it becomes clear that an open border is like a fait accompli for them and they want things to stay the same.

As a woman points out: “We are used to living with Indians.” She is one of the hooch sellers who go about her trade expertly asking every customer who’s not drinking whether he would prefer some “nasha” (intoxicants).

Back at the Valmiki Nagar border, Sima Suraksha Bal (SSB) officers admit that people from Nepal keep coming to India for every little thing. Whether its books for the child or medicines for the ailing grandmother — people are crossing the border all the time.

The SSB officer explains that there is a socio-emotional dimension to the Indo-Nepal ties.

People have homes on one side and work and cultivate on the other side. The children often cross border to get to school and often marriage take the young men and women to either Nepal or India.