The embargo has affected business activities at bordering marketplaces, including Jaubari, Kalpokhari, Gairibas, Tamuling and Manebhanjyang.
According to Bijay Lama, a trader at Jaubari, “The SSB has taken the move to show how dependent we are on Indian markets and to show it can do anything it likes.”
The ban means the affected people have to visit the district headquarters for foodstuffs and other essentials. As this part of the district is not linked with the national road network, journey to the district headquarters is an arduous one.
Earlier, around three dozen dairies of northern Ilam used to export dairy products to Darjeeling. With the ban, all this has come to a halt.
Kailash Gurung, a dairy farmer from Jamuna VDC, says, “We can buy foodstuffs and other essentials in the Nepali market, but the embargo has cost our business dear.”
“We tried to enlighten
the SSB personnel as to our situation, to no avail,” says Lama. He says, “People on this part of the district will starve if the local administration fails to convince the Indian side to lift the ban through talks.”
