Indian taxi operators protest at Banbasa border after Nepal restricts entry

Dhangadhi: Indian taxi operators and drivers staged a protest at the Banbasa Nepal-India border in Kanchanpur on Saturday, chanting slogans such as “Nepali administration is dead.” The demonstration was held demanding permission for Indian taxis with yellow number plates to operate inside Nepal.

In India, yellow number plates are issued to commercial passenger vehicles. Although Indian vehicles are allowed entry into Nepal for one month per fiscal year upon payment of a fee, they are not permitted to carry passengers. However, Indian passenger taxis had been operating freely within Nepal due to weak enforcement by local authorities.

On 20th Jestha, a meeting of the Transport Management Committee, chaired by Kanchanpur Chief District Officer (CDO) Laxman Dhakal, decided to prohibit Indian-registered taxis without accident insurance from carrying passengers inside Nepal. Tensions escalated when one such taxi was stopped at the Nepali border, prompting the protest. Demonstrators also shouted slogans accusing Nepali authorities of “hooliganism.”

Mahesh Bohara, Chairman of the Pawandut Transport Business Committee, recalled that in Chaitra 2079, when Gopal Prasad Adhikari served as CDO, it was decided that Indian vehicles could enter Nepal but would not be allowed to conduct business. However, the rule was never effectively enforced. While Indian yellow-plate taxis were informally allowed to transport passengers up to Mahendranagar, the conflict arose after they began taking passengers deeper into Nepal.

Bohara alleged that Indian taxi drivers pay Rs 100 commission per passenger to Nepali hotels, while Nepalese taxis with black plates are barred from entering India by the Indian Border Security Force. He added that Indian taxis have disrupted the local transport market by ignoring Nepali regulations.

Citing Section 30 of the Federal Vehicle Act, 2049, and Section 34 of the Far West Transport Management Act, 2079, Bohara stressed that while foreign-registered vehicles can operate in Nepal, they are not allowed to engage in commercial activities. He claimed that some Indian-registered taxis are being operated by Nepali owners under Indian registration, with several drivers possessing dual citizenship, Aadhaar cards, and Indian licenses. He estimated that around 150 Indian-registered taxis are currently operating in Mahendranagar alone.

According to CDO Dhakal, many of the Indian-registered taxis operating round the clock in Mahendranagar are actually owned by Nepalis, though not officially registered under their names. “When their operations became excessive, protests increased,” he said. “Since other measures failed to control the situation, Indian yellow-plate taxis were banned from entering Nepal. The protests erupted only after their businesses started facing losses due to this decision.”