Postal highway: Hope for Madhesh transformation

I have read in the reference book the direct participation of the people of bordering Madhesh during the revolution of 2007. After 2017, I heard from friends that the local people openly supported the protestors during the armed struggle of the Congress for the restoration of democracy, and delivered food to the revolutionary squad in the camp. Similarly, the Madhesh movement that took place after the 2063 mass movement gave Madhesh a decisive place in Nepal's politics. These reasons also inspired me to visit the villages and border areas of Madhesh. Except for Janakpur and Ekadh, almost all the towns in the Terai are new. It is not possible to know and understand Madhesh just by looking at him. This journey of Hulaki Marg was nothing but 'Swantah Sukhay' to understand Hoothooti Nepal and Nepali people.

After Jan Andolan-2, during the Constitution and State Restructuring debate, I used to hear in a program held in Madhesh, 'Madhesh was marginalized economically by building an east-west highway from the foothills of Chure. The industries that were opened during the Rana period were closed, new industries were opened on the highway. Rural Madhesi were deprived of employment opportunities. If we want to make Madhesh prosperous, the old Hulaki road should be upgraded as a highway. This can be the lifeline of Madhesh.' To break the story, there was a Hulaki route in the Terai during the Rana period. It was not that difficult to build a road towards Nepal from the point where road traffic reached across the border. Some dirt roads were under construction. The government formed after the general election in 2015 was preparing to build the east-west national highway based on the Hulaki road. During this journey, when reaching a point in Sarlahi, local friends were saying, "This is the place where Prime Minister BP Koirala laid the foundation stone in 2016."

But after 2017, the country's politics took a different path, King Mahendra started the construction of the East-West highway by cutting the Charkose bush from the foothills of Chure. Hill settlements settled around the highway. Big cities were built. It was named 'Mahendra Highway' in recognition of Mahendra's contribution to nation-building. Now people have started calling East-West Highway instead of Mahendra Highway. The word 'Lokmarg' has also started getting priority. Whatever the name Lokmarg or Highway, it means a big and wide road (highway) of national importance. There is no need to be under the impression that a highway gives the impression of a monarchy.

Hulaki Marg and Madhesh

After the multi-party restoration of democracy in 2046, the discussion of the Hulaki Marg started to take place, but it started to gain decisive momentum only after the Madhesh movement and the entry into the republic. The Government of India provided a grant of Rs.5 billion (five hundred crores) for this and its construction started from 2065/66. From Kechna in Jhapa in the east to Dodhara Chandni in West Kanchanpur, this road connecting 21 districts of Terai/Madhesh has an east-west length of about 1,000 km, but the total length is estimated to reach 1,792 km if the subsidiary roads from the east-west highway to the southern border are added. In the same proportion, its cost is also estimated to reach around 50 billion Nepalese rupees (five thousand crores). More than 80 percent of the total cost has been borne by the Nepal government. It has been 15 years since the construction of

, the last additional period that could be completed in 2079/80 has exceeded the budget. It seems that the work has not yet started in some sections, while in some places it has been completed. Somewhere the contract is yet to be signed, somewhere the national park is located, somewhere the permission of the forest office is awaited. The Indian Border Security Force (SSB) has blocked the Belauri West section of Kanchanpur due to a border dispute. There is a problem with the construction quality, the pillar of the bridge that is about to be completed in the Kamala river has been washed away. There are many problems including lack of budget, non-payment of contractors on time. It is not known when the entire Mechi-Kali air route and its north-south sections will be completed. Even if the work has started without any disruption, it will take another two to three years to complete the construction of the postal highway. However, signs of physical transformation can be seen in Madhesh during its construction.

This two-week long (14-27 February) journey started from Hanumannagar in Saptari and ended by reaching Punarwas Municipality in Kanchanpur. In this process, more than 50 municipalities will be sprayed. Public transport was not available everywhere. The reference of Jogendra Yadav, a local farmer who is unknown while walking in the border village of Saptari, was put on the back of a bicycle and is particularly memorable. From Siraha to Dhanusha and Sarlahi to Malangwa sat on the back of a motorcycle. There was no other option but to shoot Dhanusha from Siraha. Motorcycles and electric rickshaws were more informative for me than public buses.

market expansion and urbanization

It can be seen that the road network is developing rapidly in Madhesh with the construction of the postal route. The four and six lane roads touching the major checkpoints of the southern border from the east-west highway have been prepared in some places and are being constructed in some places. There is hardly any settlement, be it a village or a municipality, without a road. Pitched roads and inland slopes are seen everywhere. Urbanization and market expansion are taking place rapidly along the postal route. It cannot be said that it has transformed into Madhesh. The expanding physical infrastructure and structure should be able to be built in the ways and opportunities of the economic-social transformation of the common people. If it does not connect the common people to the formula of economic-social transformation, it will be limited to the interests of very few individuals and communities. Class distinctions become sharper and more complex. Almost everywhere I visited in the last 6 months I got the same view. Markets grew on the right and left side of the road, concrete houses were built for the purpose of collecting rent, and large hotels were opened. But most of them are empty. Notices are hanging that houses, shutters, rooms are vacant for rent.

Madhesh's expanding cities and roadsides are no exception. This makes it clear that we have not been able to link the physical infrastructure and structures that are being built with a purposeful economic transformation program. In terms of industry, the east-west highway has more access than this route, industrial structures have been built there. However, new industries and businesses can be developed in some places around the postal route.

Urbanization in Madhesh needs to be linked with industrialization and agricultural production. Otherwise, the market created by the postal route will be limited to the administrative and convenience of some people. It will be a place to blow away the hard-earned savings of the youth from foreign employment. It is to be remembered that the number of Madhesi youth who go for foreign employment is also high. On this trip I stayed in all kinds of hotels, small, medium and high-end, but in some of them I was the only customer. The restaurants where the local youth hang out and the drivers and sailors enjoy themselves after a long day's work are very open. For example, there are no settlements or markets around the bus stop in Thori Rural Municipality of Parsa. It is located in the central region of the National Park. Even across the border, there are not so many settlements. But here there are hundreds of prints written on Khajaghar board. There is no hotel for dinner, hardly found one. This indicates what kind of business and culture is developing around the postal route.

Madhesh's food reserves are shrinking. There are no large estates like yesterday. They may grab more land in the name of industry, but the land of Madhesh has also been fragmented. I saw that almost all cultivation was concentrated in food and vegetables, except for sugarcane and very little tobacco in some places. In the name of farming, a very large part is being used in own family and subsistence agriculture, its relationship with the consumer market is not visible. If there is no food supply from abroad, more than half of the people will have to starve. The amount of arable land available in Nepal is not less, now a technology (hydroponics) has been developed that can be cultivated even without land. If the technology can be modernized and the expected improvements can be made, the available land can contribute to the fulfillment of its needs and exports.

Municipality becoming stronger

Another thing that I felt directly in this visit is the strong shape and effectiveness of the local municipality. Apart from the state capital, big metropolis, sub-metropolis, the district headquarters are drying up. When asking the business people there, almost everyone's answer was, 'After the increase in the authority of the municipality, people don't have to come here, our market/business will dry up.'

The confusion and chaos seen after the first election is gone, although staff shortages remain. The presence of the province is not visible. Common people have not been able to see the difference between having a province and not having one. The main reason for this is that none of the Kathmandu-centered political parties, government, or bureaucracy is ready to transfer authority to the provincial level. Federalism is not only a structure and limited authority on paper, but also a political thought and culture. Apart from political sloganeering, prestige and giving positions of convenience to political workers, the structure of the province is proving to be an unnecessary burden. If the Union does not transfer the rights to the provinces, there is no point in maintaining the status quo.

About border management

The Nepal-India border confirms a strong case that the formal borders of the state cannot separate the presence of communities. I also reached Susta via Narayani (Gandak in India). After the river changed its course, some parts of Nepal in Nawalparasi came across Narayani. That place is Susta (currently Susta Rural Municipality-5). A suspension bridge is being built on Narayani river, so far there is no option to cross by boat. In this place, the dispute about where the border between Nepal and India is is a dispute.

Susta was a forest that had been taken over by the guru-priests of the palace. Forests were nationalized in 2017. Only after the year 2020/21, people have started living there after acquiring land. There are now settlements on both sides of India and Nepal. There are about 300 Nepali households including Pahades, Madheshis, Tharu and Muslims. According to the locals, half of the 40,000 hectares of land lying in Susta is under dispute. Nepalese settlements have been limited to about seven thousand hectares. Because of the dispute, there is no boundary pillar in Susta. Indian aggression is on the rise. Due to the very fertile land, Susta has good cultivation of sugarcane, wheat and mustard.

I met Adam Khanlai, the current coordinator of Susta Bachau Abhiyaan, in the field. After the death of former president Gopal Gurung, this campaign does not seem so active. Under the guise of the Border Security Force, Indian farmers have been encroaching on the land towards Nepal. Nepali farmers look innocent. People's sense of belonging to Nepal is not enough to save the country, it is equally important to end the border dispute as soon as possible. Disputes cannot be resolved based on the Sugauli Treaty and old maps and documents. If both countries have the will to be decisive, there is not much difficulty in reaching a solution.

Another issue that I experienced while observing the border area is the four-lane road that was built and is being built to connect the east-west highway to the southern border post, named after the postal route. Such extended roads are not necessary only for the transportation facilities of the local people. The challenge is how to use them for commercial purposes. From now on, it is necessary to give purposeful attention to the production and commercial activities expected by this infrastructure of the road network. Another thing, the Dashagaja area on the Nepal-India border, known as 'No Man's Land', now looks like a very unorganized and dirty center. On the border crossing towards Nepal, there are restaurants with liquor. This is also one of the reasons for increasing waste pollution in Dasgaja. If trees are planted there, encroachment will be avoided and environmental beauty will also increase.

The sight of local people bringing some household items on bicycles or on foot at each border customs post is a common sight on the Nepal-India border from Mechi to Mahakali. The government of Nepal has put up a notice board in big letters stating that goods worth more than 100 rupees will incur customs duty. I even went across to see what these villagers were buying. Most of them were seen buying one-two kilos of onions, sugar, and some household items. The Indian Border Security Force (SSB) and the Nepalese Armed Police Force conduct checks at the same crossing. No customs revenue collection item is found from them and no customs duty is raised. But the security forces are looking for an excuse to get some money. Customs is a major source of revenue. There are some established systems of transportation of dutiable goods for commercial purposes. But both countries should stop this ugly and impoverished scene in the name of security check on common people.

Nepal-India border is not only open, there is open society, open socio-cultural relations. There is also an unwritten commercial economy that it has created. These are far removed from the formal border management aspect. Even though the unmanned fences and border pillars that separate the border are buried, most of the border areas of the two countries are not unmanned, which can cross from anywhere. But where security checks are done at border crossings, it has also limited the concept of open borders.

When entering and exiting India, a document showing Nepali citizenship is mandatory, but no one entering Nepal is seen. The complaint of the local residents is that the Border Security Force is more harassing towards India. It should not be forgotten that the relationship and harmony in the social, cultural and economic life of the residents of the border areas for centuries is the lifeblood of border management. Not only an open but also the development of a peaceful and orderly border culture between Nepal and India is expected.