After Nepal raised objections to inauguration of the new road to Lipulekh, India has said the road section lies completely within the territory of India. India on Saturday rejected objections raised by Nepal over the inauguration of a new road to the Lipulekh pass along the border with China in Uttarakhand. The road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday.
“The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said in a statement on Saturday.
The strategic link road connecting Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 ft was inaugurated by Rajnath Singh on Friday. With the completion of this project, the arduous trek through high-altitude terrain can now be avoided by the pilgrims of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and the period of journey will also reduce by many days.
Kathmandu had earlier expressed “regret” over India’s “unilateral” decision of constructing road in a border area that has to be resolved between India and Nepal.
“This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of prime ministers and that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation,” Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said in a statement.
Nepal PM Oli and Prachanda, as co-chairmen of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), had called building the Lipulekh road during coronavirus pandemic “deplorable”.
A party statement said, “It is deplorable that this development has taken place at a time when the entire humanity is faced with unprecedented health crisis in the wake of coronavirus and all our efforts are concentrated on fighting against the pandemic.”
