Nepal-India border sealed for 72 hours

Kathmandu: The Nepal-India border points in Kanchanpur district were sealed for 72 hours since Sunday evening in view of the state assembly elections in India.

The western points Gaddachauki and Brahmadev were closed since Sunday evening and the Dodhara Chandani and Belauri points will be sealed from Monday evening, the Himalayan Times reported.

The elections to the legislative assemblies of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have been scheduled for Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh, which shares a border with Nepal, will go for its second phase of polling on February 11 after the first phase took place on February 4.

The Nepal-India checkpoints in Beldandi and Tribhuvan Basti will remain closed from Tuesday evening and they will reopen after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Kanchanpur's Deputy Superintendent of Police Nainsingh Karki said. The decision to seal the border points was taken with a view to avert any untoward incident during the election period, he said.

The Indian police also tightened security in border areas with Nepal and intensified security checks.