The State Government is going to discuss how to strengthen its basic infrastructure network and more importantly, to bring about an effective border management policy for the strategically important India — China and India-Nepal international borders that India has with these two neighours on this Himalayan front in Uttarakhand, in state capital, Dehradun, on November 18.
The aforesaid important meeting is going to be held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar with all stake holders including Uttarkhand’s border districts like Champawat on Monday. Among other concerns like India’s poor road connectivity along this long, porous and tougher Himalayan border, encroachment from the Nepal side as the officials concerned said, on the no man’s land particularly in Champawat’s Tanakpur area along the Indian -Nepal border is a major cause of concern for the Government.
Though the officials concerned have taken up these issues of encroachment on the no man’s land with the Government time to time, little has been done on the ground to solve these concerns. Therefore, the officials concerned said, these issues are going to be featured in this meeting prominently on November 18. Meanwhile, Deependra Kumar Chaudhary, District Magistrate, Champawat, has also asked the officials concerned of the SSB that guards the India-Nepal border to take necessary steps to improve basic infrastructure as part of its border management progamme keeping in view the concerns of the local people.
He has also sought a proposal from the SSB so that required fund could be made available to improve basic infrastructure facilities along the India-Nepal border. Apart from that the main focus of this meeting is likely to remain on how to improve road connectivity in the Himalayan border. It is worth mention here that there is no motorable road after Jauljibi in Pithorgarh to approach the India-Tibet border even today.
Following this poor surface transport network, the traders belonging to the ancient India-Tibet border trade have to go on foot to meet their Tibetan counterparts for business transactions. Concerned with the present state of roads the Government had approved a 135.47 km road stretch between Tanakpur and Jauljibi long ago , but it doesn’t seem that the aforesaid road is going to be completed so soon because of certain constraints like delay in clearance of forest land transfer.
A total 135.47 km road stretch between Tanakpur and Jauljibi in Pithoragarh has been approved and proposals seeking forest land clearance have already been sent to the Government, said B C Pant, Executive Engineer, PWD, Champawat. More so, out of 135.47 km of this road we have completed about 12 km road from Tanakpur to Thuligarh. But there are also some forest land related problems and we have taken up these matters with the government now , he added.
It may be recalled that this Tanakpur-Jauljibi national highway is not a new project. But following certain formalities like the time taking forest land transfer clearance process, little progress has been achieved even on this strategically important national highway. However, the district administration Champawat has also asked the officials concerned to be well prepared for the upcoming meeting on November 18, so that these issues could be taken up in the meeting properly.