The much-awaited transboundary Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway service between India and Nepal is finally set to commence within this month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba are set to inaugurate the 35 km long rail link that connects Jayanagar in Bihar and Janakpur in Nepal, which is four km from the border.
“The locals of a dozen villages of different localities including Janakpurdham Sub-metropolitan City, Orahi Rural Municipality and Janaknandani Rural Municipality of Dhanusha are overjoyed as their dream of boarding the train is finally going to come true,” myRepublica, the Nepalese news portal said.
The service covers five stations– Jayanagar, Inarwa, Khajuri, Baidehi and Kurtha. The project has been funded entirely by India.
To ensure security, the rail service will not be open to citizens from a third country. India and Nepal have an open border policy and security was one of the main concerns for India.
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The rain link on the Jayanagar-Janakpur line is expected to ease the movement of people from both sides, besides boosting trade.
Conncetivity among the South Asian nations is one of the thrust areas of countries including India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world. “South Asia, as a region, needs to be looked at holistically if the true growth potential is to be achieved,” Bipul Chatterjee, Executive Director, CUTS International said.
