Kathmandu, Feb 28 (PTI) India has sought an "end-user certificate" from Nepal to provide explosives for the construction projects in the country to control the supply of the explosives to Chinese-funded projects in the Himalayan nation, a media report said.

The move is aimed to control the supply of explosives to projects funded by China or those involving Chinese contractors, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

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After various roads and hydropower projects, particularly those involving Chinese contractors, faced a shortage of explosives, Nepal had sought prompt supply from India during the 10th joint secretary-level Joint Working Group and the secretary-level Joint Steering Committee held in Jaipur, India, on February 17-18, the report said.

“They (India) also raised the issue of end-user certificates while also assuring us that they will take Nepal's concerns to the agency responsible for dealing with explosives. They (India) said that they are concerned about possible misuse of explosives,” a member of the Nepali delegation was quoted as saying.

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As per the Working Procedure on Import, Transport, Storage and Use of Explosives-2017, the import, transport, and storage of explosives for industrial and construction projects should be carried out under strict vigilance of the Nepal Army, the report said.

Even though the Nepal Army produces commercial explosives, it does not produce enough for all the infrastructure projects in the country.

“Our production is inadequate. That's why the explosives are imported for the construction projects,” Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Krishna Prasad Bhandari was quoted as saying.

The shortage of explosives has emerged as one of the main problems for construction projects. We have to wait for 6-8 months to get them,” the president of the Contractors' Association of Nepal, Rabi Singh said.

The Nepal Army has to import raw materials for producing explosives and it relies mostly on India, said a licensed supplier of explosives.

The delay in the supply of explosives has affected several road projects, including hydropower projects and the cement industry, which uses explosives for mining activities, the report said. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)