KATHMANDU: The government team formed to study the border situation in Humla has returned after completing the visit to seven border posts on the Nepal-China border.

The team led by Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary Jay Narayan Acharya also visited the Limi-Lapcha area near Nepal-China border post No. 12, a site that came to public attention after the Chinese side constructed nine buildings in Nepali territory.

The team visited Boundary Pillars 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 in Humla.

“We visited Lapcha Bhanjyang with Pillar No. 12 and the nearby Lolung Bhanjyang and reached the structures said to have been built by the Chinese side,” Acharya said, “There we reached an altitude of up to 5,200 meters.”

However, Joint Secretary Acharya said that they could not visit Pillar No. 11 due to inclement weather.

Experts, meanwhile, opine that the report could not be complete unless the status of the Pillar no. 11 is verified.

A former official of the Department of Survey and Mapping said that the government study could not be completed without observing the boundary pillar number 11 located at an altitude of 5,202 meters in Takule hilltop, of Namkha-6.

According to him, the inclination of the pillar at Takule would make a substantive difference in the demarcation at the disputed area.

Meanwhile, Acharya said, “Only three months ago, our security forces arrived at the site of the pillar. They say there is no dispute as there is an old border post in 1961” skipping the visit to the place of strategic importance.

He reiterated that the information provided by the security agencies has to be regarded as authentic.

There are 10 border posts separating the border between Nepal and China in the Humla district.

According to sources, the government team will prepare a report including all the details it collected during the visit.

“Now we will prepare a report including all the information we gathered during the field visit and information and submit it to the government,” a member of the team said, adding, “It might take about a week for report writing.”

After the government formed a study committee headed by the joint secretary of the home ministry, the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu had said the border between Nepal and China had been undisputed since the 1960s.