Of the 58 border pillars constructed at the border from Jamuni in the East to Rajapur in the West in the district, Pillar 58 has been missing from Sanoshree area of Gulariya Municipality-10 since long.

Dipak Oli, a local, suspects that the Indian side could be responsible for the

pillar's disappearance because by doing so they can easily encroach upon Nepali

territory.

Indian Border Security Force personnel, stationed at various points along the border, however, said the pillar might have worn out on its own and disappeared over time.

APF Superintendent in the district Narayan Dutta Poudel said the missing pillar was not there whereas there were 11 other pillars in ruin when they inspected the border areas in the district.

Many Nepali locals in the bordering villages claimed the Indian side has encroached  Nepali land and built houses on no-man's-land. They further added that Indian authorities had even built a black-topped road over no-man's-land.

"Although we had been cultivating on our five katthas of land since three generations, Indian authorities have prevented us from using the land for the past three years," said Krishna Gopal Gupta of Gulariya-8. He claimed that his "encroached" land lies in Nepali territory -- between pillar No. 63 and 64. 

As per the District Land Revenue Office record of 1948, Salarpur village, which is now in India, was in Nepal then. About 45 hectares of land in Salarpur, then Nepal, which belongs to a Nepali landlord Gangadhar, is now in Salarpur, India, according to records.

Chief District Officer Bed Bahadur Karki admitted that both Nepali and Indian nationals have built makeshift huts on

no-man's-land. He, however, denied having any information on road construction in