The Hindu Business Line : Himalayan siege

I WAS warned on several counts as I announced my trip to Birgunj (Nepal) via Raxaul (India): "It will be very cold over there, so take adequate precaution and carry heavy woollens," suggested one of my friends familiar with topography of the place.

"You will be travelling in train through Bihar at night, so take enough precaution and do not carry cash," warned another.

"No food will be available on the route so carry your own grub," cautioned another.

However, there was no warning about the real problem. No one had cautioned me about the Maoist rebels whose formidable presence, though silent and not-so-visible, would be felt as soon as I crossed the border and stepped into the Himalayan Kingdom.

I arrived bang in the middle of an indefinite strike called by the Maoists. The roads were deserted and most shops were shut. For miles trucks stood at Raxaul, the border town on the Indian side. The vehicles, carrying all kinds of items for Nepal, had been waiting for 11 days for the Nakabandi (truck strike) to be lifted. On the second day, the rebels had set fire to14 trucks. The fear among common people was palpable presumably because they could not hope to fall back upon the administration in the event of an attack. The writ of the Maoists ran everywhere (except perhaps in and around Kathmandu).

Most of the operators of the stranded vehicles had run out of money and did not know how to make both ends meet. The anxiety was all the more as the future seemed uncertain. Even local workers were reluctant to work. The driver of the taxi I hired in Raxaul insisted that I released him well before the sundown. At the Birgunj inland clearance depot, trains with containers arrived with police escort but the cargoes piled up in the warehouses while a bank branch and the Customs office closed. I was the hotel's lone occupant.

The factory owners were in a real jam; inputs were not coming in nor finished products getting out and, worse, the workers were afraid to report for duty. In one joint venture, the management deployed trained dogs for the protection of the premises at night presumably because the local people were either not available or, even if available, could not always be trusted.

But, then, the local people cannot always be blamed. Who would want to stick his neck out? As it always happens in such a situation, the peace was negotiated at a price. And the price was not small. Since there was no unified command, the splinter rebel groups fished in the troubled waters.

Santanu Sanyal

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