Addressing a programme at Bathnaha in India on Monday, Bhag Singh Dogara, commandant of 56th battalion of the SSB, said hundreds of huts and houses have illegally been built after encroaching upon the no man’s land on both sides of the border.

He said that they have informed the local administration of both Nepal and India about the increasing crime rate owing to the encroachment.

“Officials of both Nepal and India should resolve the matter through talks,” he said at the programme where media-persons of both the countries had participated.

According to a report prepared by the SSB after inspecting the bordering areas, 28,707 sq meters of land in Araria in India, which shares borders with Morang and Sunsari in Nepal, has been encroached upon.

Saying that it is very difficult to find any trace of the no man’s land in the area due to massive encroachment, Dogara informed that 31 out of a total of 244 border pillars in the area have disappeared.

He further said that the Indian authorities have started searching for the missing border pillars, and stressed on the need for Nepali side to do the same.

“I was informed that security forces and local administrations of both the countries will hold a joint meeting to make a common strategy to resolve this matter soon,”

the Indian SSB officer said, adding that the high level mechanism of both the countries should take a joint initiation to vacate the encroached no man’s land on both sides.

Dogara said he has information that the encroachers hold citizenship certificates of both the countries, a serious matter which he said is being investigated.

Niranjan Chand, commandant of 24th battalion of the SSB at Araria, said that local administrations of both the countries should help security agencies vacate the encroached lands.