Nepali traders and Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha supporters clashed at Miteri bridge along the Nepal-India border on Wednesday evening.

Witnesses said the situation in no man’s land remained tense after local traders tried to take carts loaded with daily essentials along the bridge at around 8:30pm. During the clashes five carts carrying various daily essentials entered Nepal from the border point. The traders also removed some bamboo poles that obstructed the border point.

After being informed of clashes, additional Morcha protesters arrived at the bridge. Morcha activist Bikram Sah of Ramnagari in Parsa said traders returned to Raxaul after Morcha supporters gathered at the no man’s land. With the onset of the winter season, a few Morcha protesters spend nights under tents set up at the bridge. Most others leave the place at night to avoid cold wave and dense fog.

Protesters said some activists have not returned to the site after the Chhath festival. Tahir Mansur, a protester, said around 35 carts returned to the Indian side of the border following the clash.

Local traders with consent from some Morcha leaders had started supplying essentials goods on carts to Nepal via the bridge. The protesters who have been staging sit-in at the bridge were enraged at their leaders’ activities.

Last Thursday, protesters had stopped around 20 carts of daily essentials being ferried to the Nepali side of the border. Preferring anonymity, a Morcha supporter said the irresponsible activities of their leaders saddened them. Umesh Prasad of Inarwa said Morcha leaders and activists have been involved in smuggling fuel and other daily essentials. “They have left protests for earning money,” he said.

n Tents set up by Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha supporters at Miteri bridge, an entry point along the Nepal-India border, in Parsa. POST PHOTO