Hundreds of containers worth billions of commercial goods, which are about to enter Nepal from Kerung towards Rasuwa and Tatopani at Sindhupalchok, have been stranded on the way. The Chinese side has informed that it will take at least 15 days to open the Kerung road.
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After the landslides in the second week of October damaged motorable bridges and roads, the trade passing through Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi, the two major crossings of Nepal with China, has almost come to a standstill. Before the flood, the commercial goods that were taken for Dasain and Tihar have been stored in warehouses in various cities and roads in China.
According to businessmen, fruits and spices such as apple, garlic, walnut, kiwi, mango, dragon foot etc. are rotten to the point of being unusable . It is almost impossible to bring ready-made clothes and commercial goods to Nepal before Tihar. Businessmen say that it is impossible to bring such goods.
Fruits stored and loaded in containers in Kerung have started to smell rotten. According to Rajesh Bhandari, an apple importer, water has started leaking from the container which has been cleared by Kerung customs after carrying a load of fruits. About three thousand of my cartons of apples have been loaded and placed in the container. I have received news that water has started leaking from the container in Kerung. Now we have to mix all the apples,' said Bhandari sadly.
Kerung customs-cleared container items cannot be kept in cold store or taken anywhere . Businessmen complain that there is no way to protect their goods as the Kerung-Rasuwagadhi road to Kathmandu is damaged. Fruits from some containers in Kerung and Lhasa are kept in cold store . The businessman said that due to the low capacity of the cold tower, it is not possible to store all the goods.
According to Tatopani Customs Officer and Information Officer Surya Kafle, perishable items such as apples brought to Tatopani border before December have been brought to the customs yard. Hundreds of porters are now operating to carry the goods . According to Kafle, businessmen have been carrying boxes of apples and spices across the Liping River.
The porter brings the small vehicle to Kodari Phero after crossing the Liping River. After cutting the Kodari landslide, another vehicle has been changed to bring the goods to the customs yard. Tatopani customs chief Kamal Kumar Bhattarai said that the goods were brought to the dry port after the porter carried them twice and unloaded them twice in the vehicle. Some containers on the way to Tatopani border have been returned to Lhasa. Customs chief Bhattarai informed that he is also talking to the higher authorities to open the road.
He said that even after starting the work, it may take a few days because the road is damaged in many places. According to him, from today, the road office is going to remove the Kodari landslide. Bhattarai informed that if the road can be cleared after removing the landslide, the porters will have to carry it to one place only.
According to apple importer Bishnu Shrestha, when importing by carrying, the additional transportation cost of one container vehicle costs up to 1 lakh . He said that since his 9 containers are in the border area, efforts are being made to bring them to Nepal. According to him, arrangements have been made to return some containers of apples in Khasa area to Nyalam and keep them in cold storage with the help of Khasa administration. Shrestha said, "Due to transportation, a situation has arisen where the loss has to be incurred."
Most of the 24 km road from Rasuwagadhi border to Kerung in Tibet has been damaged. It is not possible to carry the goods from Kerung . About 1 km from Miteri Bridge in Tatopani towards Bharbise, the Leaping Motorable Bridge has been swept away by flood and dropped in Bhotekosi . There is no immediate temporary management at that location. Belibridge has been prepared but has not been started .
Some materials from Belybridge have been delivered to the dry port at Larcha . The Belibreeze in Bhotekosi, located in Larcha on the Araniko Highway, about 11 km west of the Tatopani border, has been swept away by the flood. About one km away from the customs yard, a hump pipe has been installed and the container has been moved. Trade through the Tatopani crossing, which was completely closed for four consecutive years after the earthquake, had been increasing since the last two years.
Kerung road damaged
The road connecting Rasuwagadhi and Kerung towards China has been damaged to the point where people cannot even walk. Nepalese businessmen and employees who had gone to Kerung before Dasai were brought to Rasuwa with the help of security personnel. In some places, there is a situation where you have to cross the road with a rope. Chinese officials have not been able to set an opening time after informing that the road is being repaired .
The road connecting Rasuwa to Kathmandu was opened before December. According to Rasuwa Customs Chief Tulsi Prasad Bhattarai, the road towards Kerung is unlikely to open before Tihar. He said that the Chinese side has informed that it will take at least 15 more days to open the road. He said that the collection of customs revenue has been stopped since October 21st.
"The goods of the containers that came before the flood have passed the customs and arrived in Kathmandu," he said, "Now there is no situation to start business without the road being operational." According to the information given by the Chinese authorities to the border Nepalis, the tunnel road and the road near the river have been made narrow for people to walk.
Dussehra preparations stuck in the way of clothes
Especially ready-made clothes from China have been entering Nepal with great results. According to Rasuwa Customs Chief Bhattarai, there is no possibility that these goods will reach Kathmandu immediately. From China, ready-made clothes, shoes, bags, jackets, cosmetics, stationary goods, agricultural and hydropower tools, electric vehicles etc. are imported.
Businessmen claim that hundreds of containers of commercial goods worth crores worth entering Nepal through Kerung and Tatopani border crossings are stuck on the way. Ramhari Karki, president of the Nepal Himalayan Cross Border Commerce Association, informed that now the Dasain Tihar and winter goods are lying in warehouses and roads.
'The goods brought in one season cannot be sold in the next season,' he said, 'This time, many businessmen have suffered crores of loss . He said that most of the land trade with China is related to the northern border, so the government agencies should show readiness to open the road. He said that the government should be more interested in facilitating trade through Tatopani and Rasuwa crossings.
