The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), guarding the India-Nepal border in Darjeeling district, is on high alert after mass-scale prison breaks in troubled Nepal.
According to reports, thousands of inmates have managed to escape from various jails in Nepal, including capital Kathmandu, since Tuesday amid the Gen Z protest seeking a change in government.
SSB official sources said they have been keeping close vigil on the border to prevent any unauthorised entry. People are allowed to cross both sides of the border after stringent verification.
“Security has been intensified at the India-Nepal border after news spread about prison breaks in the neighbouring country. The people are only allowed to cross the border after a thorough checking and verifying the justification,” an SSB official said on Thursday afternoon.
The 41 battalion of the SSB guards around 40km stretches of the India-Nepal border. Of these stretches, 29km comes under the jurisdiction of Bengal and rest under Bihar.
On September 8, the youth of Nepal, Gen Z, hit the streets in a violent uprising against social injustice and corruption. According to the SSB, although the situation in the neighbouring country has started to gradually improve, the next couple of days are crucial for restoring normality on other sides of the border.
That is why, the SSB’s high alert on the border continues, an official source said.
“The situation has started improving gradually, but matters are crucial in the next two-three days. Considering the latest developments in Nepal, we are maintaining extra vigilance across the border,” the source said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has returned to Calcutta after completing her three-day north Bengal visit on Thursday, has expressed her concern about the Nepal unrest. According to her instructions, the Darjeeling district police have set up a police assistance desk at Panitanki, the Darjeeling town on the India-Nepal border. Senior police officers are keeping a close watch on the border areas.
“We are assisting people who were stranded in Nepal by providing them transport, food and drinking water. The situation along the Indian part of the border is peaceful,” a senior police officer said.
Tourism stakeholders have been advised by the Nepal army to restrict the movement of visitors by land for safety reasons.
“We are receiving regular updates from tourism stakeholders and officials of Nepal tourism about the current situation of the country. We are also appealing to the tourists and visitors to plan their itinerary in consultation with the authorities concerned of the neighbouring country,” Samrat Sanyal, the secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, one of the largest associations of tourism stakeholders in Bengal, said.