Nepalese pelt stones at workers engaged in building embankment in Uttarakhand, 2nd attack in a month

• The Indian side is constructing a 985-metre embankment on Kali River on the Indian side, to protect Dharchula town from monsoon floods
• The embankment will push the flow of Kali River towards Nepal’s side which could lead to flooding
• Nepalese have already constructed a 5-km-long protection wall on their side

Barely a month after attacks on Indians, another incident of stone pelting was reported from the Indian side of Indo-Nepal border in Dharchula area of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand on Wednesday, according to Indian officials.

According to sources, villagers from Nepal pelted stones on the labourers when they were building an embankment on the Indian side of Kali River, which acts as the border between Nepal and India, on Tuesday evening.

 “We received information about stone pelting on the Indian side again. We have taken up this issue again with Nepalese authorities and told them to take action against miscreants,” said Divesh Shashni, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Dharchula.

“As soon as the stone pelting started, Indian workers fled from the spot to save themselves,” said Rakesh Tiwari, a local resident, according to the Hindustan Times. Dhan Singh Dhami, block pramukh, Dharchula, said there have been around a dozen incidents of stone pelting on Indian workers in the last 50 days. “The Nepalese citizens should come forward to stop such elements who are spoiling the traditional harmony between the two sides,” he said

The Indian side is constructing a 985-metre embankment on Kali River on the Indian side, to protect Dharchula town from monsoon floods, according to sources.

“Nepalese have already constructed a 5-km-long protection wall on their side. While that wall was under construction, we did not raise any objections. Why are they now creating problems for us here”, said Krishna Garbiyal, a resident of Dharchula .

Similar incident was reported on December 4 following which the residents and the local traders staged a protest and suspended construction work. The local police later filed a case against unidentified Nepalese citizens who allegedly pelted stones at the workers on the Indian side.

There is a lot of apprehension in the villagers of Nepal after India started building embankments as they fear that the construction will push the flow of Kali River towards their side which would lead to flooding.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM