New Delhi- Earlier the government had imposed restrictions on the entry of foreign tourists through the Gaddachauki border checkpoint in Kanchanpur district of Sudurpaschim province from December 10, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, after a meeting between the country's home minister Ramesh Lekhak and India's ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, the government has decided to lift the restrictions.

According to a press statement issued by the government, "Previously, foreign tourists could only enter Nepal through this border and could not return through this border. In a meeting between the Home Minister of Nepal Ramesh Lekhak and the Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava it was discussed to remove the restriction on immigration services to citizens from third countries entering India through the Nepali checkpoints."

It further states that, "India had imposed restrictions on the entry of foreign nationals through the Gaddachauki border checkpost into its territory since December 10, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The stakeholders in the tourism business of the Kanchanpur district of Nepal have been calling on the government for three years to allow foreign tourists to enter India via the Gaddachauki transit point without any hindrance. Tourists who come to different areas of Uttarakhand also visit Nepal for a few days. Since India allows exit but not entry, such tourists stopped coming."

Gaddachauki border checkpoint is the only border crossing in the southern part of Nepal. Through this border, tourists from third countries can enter India the other way around.