UP to develop districts adjoining Nepal border

Lucknow, July 20 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Friday assured a visiting Nepalese delegation that his government would develop infrastructure in bordering districts on a priority basis.

The chief minister was interacting with the visiting delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) led by FNCCI vice-president Bhawani Rana. He assured them that for issues like the laying of a railway line, power and customs, he would soon write to the union government.

Saying that ties between India and Nepal went back to ancient times, Akhilesh Yadav said the problems of importing herbals from Nepal to India and the laying of a road running from Doodhibadi in Nepal till Gorakhpur in India, passing through the border district of Maharajganj, as raised by the Nepalese delegation, would be taken up on priority.

Akhilesh Yadav also said that till the work on the proposed roads was not taken up, repairs of the existing roads would be taken up quickly so that movement of goods and people was not hindered.

Keeping in mind the development of tourism, the chief minister apprised the visiting delegation about work on an international airport at Kushinagar based on the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

All formalities have been completed on the project, Yadav said and added that once the airport came up, economic development in the area would ensure that tourism in both Uttar Pradesh and Nepal got a major boost.

On law and order in the neighbouring districts of Nepal, Akhilesh Yadav said Uttar Pradesh Police officials would be instructed to hold regular meetings with their Nepalese counterparts.

He also pointed out that the sudden release of water from the rivers in Nepal often caused havoc in Uttar Pradesh and the state government would request the central government to work out power generation projects like those in Bhutan.