Nepalese PM Pushpa Kamala Dahal ‘Prachanda’ paid an official visit to India.
During the visit, India and Nepal signed three agreements, including one where New Delhi will provide a new line of credit of $750 million for post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal.
This is in addition to the $250 billion that New Delhi had committed after the earthquake that had struck Nepal on 25 April.
India also offered another line of credit, modalities of which are to be worked out, to assist in development projects in Nepal, including a polytechnic in Dahal’s birthplace in Kaski district.
A key decision was setting up an oversight committee to speed up the long-delayed road and hydel power projects that India is constructing in Nepal. The discussion between Modi and Dahal focused on how to speed up development projects in Nepal.
The oversight panel will also look into expediting the work on two rail links. These are the Jayanagar-Janakpur-Bardibas and Jogbani-Viratnagar links, where work is hampered by land acquisition and shifting of transmission lines. Three other rail links are also being worked upon, including Kapilvastu-Kusinagar Buddhist circuit link.
The two sides also decided to market their Buddhist circuit together to attract more visitors. Dahal sought more transmission lines as well as power from India to tide over Nepal’s short-term power scarcity.
