At 10:30 am on October 29, police seized two bags of goods from the agricultural market area of ​​Gauradaha Municipality-1 in Jhapa. A patrol team deployed under the command of Gauradaha Police Chief Inspector Chandrika Kumar Shrestha found two bags of firecrackers worth about Rs 50,000 while checking a motorcycle coming from Gaurigunj.

The day before, at 7:30 am on October 28, the police foiled another illegal trade attempt in the border area of ​​Hukkagachhi, Gauriganj Rural Municipality-4, Jhapa. 

The police recovered 20 bundles (1000 packets) of firecrackers smuggled from India. The value of which was around 4 lakhs.   

On October 25, at 10:30 pm, firecrackers worth 4 lakhs were recovered from Bhadrapur. The firecracker smuggling gang had smuggled the firecrackers into Nepal from India by evading customs. 

In all three incidents, the police recovered the firecrackers.  However, they could not arrest the person involved in the smuggling of the goods.  Police say, ‘The person left the goods and ran away as soon as he saw us.’ 

All three incidents highlight a common reality, the weak security mechanism of the India-Nepal border and the smuggling network.

Taking advantage of the open border, small and big traders smuggle firecrackers into Nepal through local settlements and small vehicles.

There are more than a dozen BOPs of the Armed Police Force on the approximately 300-kilometer-long open border from Jhapa to Sunsari. However, the resources, equipment and manpower to monitor 24 hours are not sufficient. Which has made it easy to smuggle firecrackers and other items. ‘We will not allow them to be brought in until they are seen,’ said Koshi Police Chief DIG Ishwar Karki, ‘But, they take advantage of the open border and bring them in, we don’t care.’

According to DIG Karki, there is a challenge of the open border. The presence of border security is low. Gangs take advantage of this. ‘We have been continuously trying to prevent illegal activities,’ he adds, ‘but it is difficult to make it zero.’

The morale of the security forces is low after the Gen-G movement and demonstrations. Taking advantage of this, banned firecrackers are being smuggled in illegally from various checkpoints in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari.

Legal ban, but social neglect

The government has imposed a complete ban on the import, sale and use of explosives. However, the impact of this law has been weakened due to the easily available items in the market.

Firecrackers contain high levels of chemical elements (potassium chlorate, sulfur and phosphorus), which can cause serious accidents such as fire, burns and explosions.

According to police officials, they seize hundreds of kilos of firecrackers every year. They say that this control would not have been possible without social support.

Tihar is a festival of fun, but they believe that causing risks in the name of fun is a weakness of social thinking. Children find loud noises and flashing lights fun. Parents also give their silent consent, calling it the ‘fun of the festival’.

Many have paid the price for this consent in accidents. There are examples of burns to hands, loss of eyes, fire incidents and in some cases even loss of life. However, this undertaking is repeated every year.

Sagar Shiwakoti, a professor at Himalayan College Dhulabari, says, ‘Tihar is a festival of light, but now we are making it a festival of smoke and explosions.’ This is also a serious attack on our culture.’ According to him, when explosives are detonated, dust and smoke mix with the atmosphere, which sharply increases the level of air pollution.

According to doctors, firecrackers have an immediate effect on respiratory patients, children and the elderly. Doctor Dr. Pitambar Thakur warns, ‘In the name of light, we are making the air black. We are playing games with our own health.’

The police seem to be active in controlling firecracker smuggling. But the smuggling network is even stronger.