Kandetar raises issue of open border

By Renuka Dhakal

Kathmandu, Aug 11 : With the campaign of 'Barbed wire in the border by the people, for the people,  Kandetar, a film is being produced to generate awareness about the border issues and instill the feeling of patriotism. 

Nawal Khadka, director of the film, said that his film is a proposal to regularise open borders. 

The main message of the movie is that the country's soil, sovereignty, country's history are the biggest things. The film raises the issues of violence, interference, and looting that frequently occur along the border said Khadka. 

The film covers the stories from Kathmandu to the three open borders with India. This film points out six things such as a land dispute, terrorists’ entry, the arrival of illegal migrants, illegal drug trade, smuggling of arms, and tax evasion as reasons for installing the barbed wire on the border, said Khadka.

Filmmaker Nawal Khadka organized a program in the capital on Tuesday to collect the views of the politicians and others on the issue of borders.

Speaking at the program Dr. Bhim Bahadur Rawal, a senior leader of CPN- UML, said that, putting barbed wire on the border is an expression of national defense.

Barbed wire does not mean just putting up a wall or barbed wire on the border, it symbolically means that international practices should also be applied while managing the border of Nepal. 

Rawal said, "Our neighbor India has also installed barbed wire on its border. Citizens will not feel secure unless the borders are secured, so the state should work to regulate and control the borders."

Jagannath Khatiwada, Deputy Secretary of CPN (Unified Socialist), emphasized that Nepal should manage its borders. He said that barbed wire should be installed in the mind of every Nepali to protect the border.

He also challenged the government to identify the four points of the border saying that the citizens are forced to live as refugees at the border.

He said that the state is completely silent on the border dispute with its neighbors. "Politicians go on foreign trips, they say they had amicable talks. However, the issue of the border does not seem to be raised," he added.

To be a Nepali, one must have self-respect and willpower to fight for the soil, he added.  

Dev Prasad Gurung, leader of the Maoist Centre, said that the borders of all the countries of the world are controlled and organized.

He said that Nepal should also keep its borders organized.