Voters living near Nepal-India border in Morang Constituency-5 want law and order in their towns and villages. They have been asking every election candidate visiting their localities and doorsteps for vote canvassing to fulfil this one singular request of theirs.

They say incidents like theft and robbery are daily occurrence in their areas, and they want their representatives at the federal parliament and the provincial assembly to ensure safety of their homes and neighbourhoods, which, they say, the local administration has failed to do. 

Several police posts in the border areas in Morang which were vacated during the insurgency period have still not been reinstated. People say that due to open border with India, criminals are active in fringe areas of Morang because they can easily hop across the border to evade the authorities.

“We do not have any sense of security because there is no police post nearby. We have been requesting the candidates to set up a police office,” said Ashok Sah, a local from Jahada settlement.

Nepali Congress leader Amrit Aryal, minister without portfolio Shiva Kumar Mandal of the left alliance, Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal leader Raj Kumar Yadav and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal leader Badri Prasad Mandal are contesting for a federal parliament seat from Morang-5.

Ajaya Singh, a local schoolteacher, said while the Indian side had mobilised a large number of Shasastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel along its border, the Nepal side had few and far between.

“When you have presence of law enforcement officers there are fewer crimes. Here, we have many crimes on a daily basis because there are not enough security personnel,” he said.

 Around 41 km stretch of Morang is connected with India, but the people who live near the border say the authorities have not mobilised enough security personnel to guard the frontier towns and villages.

According to the District Election Office, there are 89,287 voters in Morang, who live close to Nepal-India border.