Nepal, May 19 -- The growing number of Indian visitors travelling to Nepal's border towns for gambling and alcohol consumption is emerging as a security concern for local authorities.

Police say the open border makes it difficult to regulate movement, while long-standing social and family ties between communities on both sides have further blurred the no-man's-land in several border areas.

For decades, nationals from India and Nepal have crossed the border for family visits, work and trade. In recent years, however, border towns in Nepal have increasingly developed into centres for cross-border tourism, with hundreds of Indian nationals arriving daily to visit casinos, hotels and liquor outlets.

While the influx has boosted local busin...