KHATMANDU – Nepal will close the Indian Embassy’s field office in the nearfuture as it has “outlived its purpose”, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli hassaid.
India was permitted to set up the temporary field office in 2008 to issuepasses to vehicles for plying on Indian roads in the bordering regionsafter Koshi floods severely damaged a 17-km stretch of the east-westhighway.
Initially set up in the eastern Sunsari district, it was later shifted tothe nearby Biratnagar city, about 375 kms from here, along the KoshiHighway.
Speaking at the first parliamentary party meeting of the newly-formed NepalCommunist Party here, party’s co-chairman Oli said The office would beremoved as it had “outlived its purpose”.
After repair of the damaged portion of the highway, Nepal had asked Indiato shut down the camp office but the Indian side did not comply.
The Indian flag was hoisted on the office building while India starteddistributing scholarships and got involved in various social activitiesusing the facility, the Kathmandu Post reported.
India in 2014 sought the government’s permission to establish a ConsulateGeneral Office in Biratnagar by upgrading the field office, the report said.
The Nepali government had tried to remove the field office six years agowhen then Maoist leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha was the foreign minister.
In 2011, then Baburam Bhattarai-led government issued two diplomatic notesto New Delhi seeking removal of the office, according to officials.
“The prime minister’s statement suggests that there is no need for suchfield offices in a small country,” Communist Party of Nepal leader JanardanSharma was quoted as saying by the Post.