KATHMANDU, Aug. 7 -- The checkpoint at the India-Nepal border here has a whole range of Nepalis crossing over: innocent Nepali workers in search of jobs in India so they can support families back home, quite a few Indian workers crossing over, Nepali girls being trafficked to India, young women snared into relationships with Indians via social media, or people travelling for medical treatment in both directions.
However, the open India-Nepal border is also associated with crime and smuggling of goods, drugs, and people. The problems seem to have got worse in the past year of the pandemic, according to participants at a crossborder conference of Indian and Nepali journalists organised by the Human Rights Journalist Association in Dhangadi l...