Patna, Nov. 27: The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) claimed to have confiscated 1,450 animals and arrested 80 people along the India-Nepal border in Bihar till Thursday ahead of the two-day-long mass cattle sacrifice at Gadhimai Mela in southern Nepal.

The fest would commence at the small hours on Friday.

Informing about the crackdown on illegal cattle transport across the border, additional director-general (SSB) S.K. Singhal of the frontier headquarters said: “We are trying our best to prevent illegal transportation of animals to Nepal from Bihar along the border.”

He added that the border outpost personnel were on alert, and he had asked to sensitise the force on the movement of people and animals. The routes initially identified vulnerable for cattle transportation from Bihar to Nepal for Gadhimai Mela are Raxaul-Adapur (East Champaran), Bagaha-Triveniganj (West Champaran), Jaynagar-Inarwa (Madhubani), Birpur-Bauraha (Supaul) and Sitamarhi-Bhitamore (Sitamarhi).

The mass sacrifice would be done on the premises of Gadhimai temple at Bairiyapur village in Bara in southern Nepal.

The SSB is also being assisted by Bihar Police in crackdown on illegal animal transport. Additional director-general of Bihar Police (headquarters) Gupteshwar Pandey said the state police are not only helping the SSB along the India-Nepal border to seize the animals being smuggled out, they are also making efforts to check their transport into Nepal before the festival.

“The Indian border is suddenly leaking like a sieve from the past two days. Around 200 buffaloes brought from India were gathered at Gadhimai temple on Tuesday. We have videos of people admitting that they have succeeded in crossing the border with animals. SSB checkposts are being bribed. People are giving bribes up to Rs 700 per animal to cross the border,” said Urvashi Prasad, one of the representatives from India in the Global Shapers’ Community at the World Economic Forum.