From correspondents in India, 07:00 PM IST

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), guarding the country's 1,752-km border with Nepal, has been put on alert after the neighbouring country's first Moist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' resigned Monday.

'All border outposts have been alerted. Patrolling and checking have been intensified all along the border,' SSB's 22nd Battalion commandant in Ranidanga sector S.l. Sarkar told IANS here.

The authorities were also keeping a close watch on the possibility of clashes between the Maoists and the Nepalese Army over the political developments.

The Maoists were seen holding a demonstration at Kakorbhita, the Nepalese side of the border with India in Darjeeling district.

Prachanda announced his resignation in a televised address after the nation's President Ram Baran Yadav ordered reinstatement of army chief Gen Rookmangud Katawal who was earlier sacked by the Maoist government.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)