Indian customs officials began releasing a limited amount of Nepal-bound freight through Sunauli from Sunday at the constant urging of their Nepali counterparts at Bhairahawa customs.

Two fuel tankers, two LPG bullets and 34 trucks loaded with perishable commodities like potato, fruit and onion entered Nepal on Sunday.

On Monday, two dozen trucks carrying vegetables, fruits and industrial raw materials had been cleared by India as of 2pm. However, no fuel tankers crossed the border.

Bhairahawa Customs Chief Lawanya Dhakal said that he had contacted Indian customs officials directly and asked them why the oil tankers had not been released. He said that the Indian officials had assured him that they would send eight fuel tankers and three LPG bullets immediately.

Dhakal also said that they had been sending representatives to the Indian customs office to pressure them to send essential goods to Nepal.

Meanwhile, cadres and leaders of the agitating Madhesi Morcha staged a demonstration on no-man’s land between Nepal and India on Monday. A group attempting to cross the border from Nepal to break up the protest was stopped by security personnel.

Tension surrounded the border area after the two groups confronted each other for a few moments. Later, the Madhesi Morcha’s programme ended and the protestors reportedly headed towards India.

Meanwhile, a total of 63 loaded containers have entered Nepal through Kakkarbhitta in the last five days, the Mechi Customs Office said. In the past, as many containers used to enter the country daily.

A total of 18 containers filled with potatoes, 13 tankers loaded with fuel, eight containers loaded with onion, seven loaded with fruits,

six loaded with clinker and four loaded with fish passed into Nepal through Kakkarbhitta. Likewise, three containers filled with rosin and two loaded with millet entered Nepal.

However, strict checking of Nepal-bound cargo continues. Although checking was a little loose on Thursday and Friday, it became stringent again from Sunday.

“We were expecting flexibility from the Indian side, but it has further tightened the movement of Nepal-bound cargo,” said a local customs agent Roshan Agrawal. Indian border security forces have been scrutinising even rickshaws and motorcycles.

A long queue of Nepal-bound trucks carrying clinker, petroleum products, coal, marble and vegetable have been stranded on the Indian side of the border. Another customs agent Sharan Rai said that Indian officials neither check the tankers nor clear them to enter Nepal.

Ram Chandra Timsina who was returning to Jhapa from Siliguri, India, said that locals had been facing hardships due to the blockade. Meanwhile, the Federation

of Nepalese Journalists, Jhapa has demanded an end to the blockade.