India to permit Nepal-bound vehicles carrying construction equipment

Laxmi Prasad Upadhyay, Kathmandu, Apr. 19: The Indian government has decided to permit transportation of vehicles stuck at Indian Customs Office and Highways due to the lockdown in India.

As in India and many other countries, Nepal has also imposed lockdown to stem spread of the SARS-COV-2.

The construction equipment of various Hydro Power Projects of Nepal which are under construction were stuck in India due to the lockdown.

As the projects under construction were facing difficulties due to the lockdown, the Indian government had somewhat provided relief to those projects by letting the flow of construction equipments.

The Indian government became positive in permitting the transportation of stuck vechiles after Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary of Ministry of Energy, Irrigation and Water Resources asked for help with his Indian counterpart, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai.

Ghimire had conducted a virtual meeting with his Indian counterpart Sahai.

After the meeting, the additional secretary of Indian Ministry of Energy had asked the details of the vehicles stuck in India.

Gorkhapatradaily quoted secretary Ghimire as saying on Sunday that and the additional secretary of the Ministry had asked for details about all the vehicles stuck in India carrying construction equipments of hydro power projects.

The vehicles will arrive at Nepal border as soon as the Indian government manages vehicle pass, he added.