Nepal to take up link road matter with India through talks
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has said in the Nepali Parliament that the construction of the link road from the Indian side to the Lipulekh Pass through the territory of Nepal has seriously attracted the attention of the government.
During the parliamentary meeting of Nepal on Sunday, the foreign minister said that “this road construction is against the understanding between the two countries and through dialogue the solution to the issues related to the border will be found.” Gyawali, reading the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, claimed that the Lipulekh and Kalapani regions fall under the territory of Nepal and this will be resolved through dialogue with India. He said that the government of Nepal wants to resolve border disputes with India by keeping the principle of sovereign equality and national interest at the center.
Meanwhile, India rejected Nepal’s objections over the opening of the road construction up to Lipulekh on the Chinese border, saying that the road construction was entirely in Indian territory.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Shrivastava said in a statement on Saturday, “The recently inaugurated road construction in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state is entirely in Indian territory. This road is built on the already existing route used by pilgrims during the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. ”
Significantly, on Friday, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 80-km road connecting Pithoragarh-Dharchula to Lipulekh through video conferencing. This link road originates from Ghiyabagarh and ends at the entrance of Lipulekh pass, Kailash-Mansarovar. Through this road, pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in a week instead of three weeks.
After this inauguration, Nepal expressed “regret” over India’s “unilateral” decision to build the road in the border area. A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Nepal said, “This unilateral decision is against the understanding between the two countries and the solution to the issues related to the border will be found through dialogue.”
