Nepal escalates border row

Lodges formal protest with India over construction of road

Escalating its territorial row with India over the Lipulekh area in Uttarakhand, Nepal on Monday issued a “diplomatic note”, conveying its protests over the recent construction of a road by India in Lipulekh which Nepal claims as its own.

Nepal “foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali conveyed the government of Nepal’s position on boundary issues to Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra at a meeting held at the foreign ministry today (in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu) and handed over a diplomatic note in this regard,” said the Nepal foreign ministry in a tweet.

The Indian ambassador said he had clearly spelt out New Delhi’s position on the matter to the Nepalese foreign minister.

The controversy was triggered after defence minister Rajnath Singh had inaugurated an 80-km high altitude road from Dharchula to Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand on Friday to reduce the travel time for the pilgrimage to

Kailash-Mansarovar.

Though Nepal on Saturday disapproved the inauguration, India insisted that the road falls within its territory and said that “the road follows the preexisting route.

Nepal, however, claims that as per the Treaty of Sagauli, “all the territories east of Kali river, including Lipu Lekh belong to Nepal”.