The Rasuwa border crossing has not been opened, and only a small number of transport vehicles have been allowed to come and go from Tatopani. Even goods purchased for Dashain-Tihar have not been able to enter due to the containers not being released.
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Goods worth millions of rupees purchased by Nepali businessmen have been stranded on the road after the Nyalam administration of China's autonomous Tibet region tightened restrictions on container movement as per requirements. Goods that have been stuck in Chinese territory since last Ashar have not been able to enter Nepal after the closure of the Rasuwa border crossing.
While the Rasuwa border crossing is not open, only a small number of transport vehicles have been allowed to enter and exit from Tatopani. Due to the lack of transport containers, even goods purchased for Dashain-Tihar have not been able to enter Nepal. Before Dashain, Tatopani was the only option among the northern border crossings. However, the Kodari section of the Araniko Highway was blocked for more than two months. This meant that fruits had to be brought to the customs yard. Other goods were stored in warehouses there.
Even though the road is now operational, Nepali traders have been hit by the limited number of cargo containers left by the Nelam administration in Tibet. Ganga Bahadur Ghimire (Sagar), Senior Vice President of the Nepal Himalayan Cross-Border Chamber of Commerce, said that their goods are stranded in cities including Lhasa, Nelam, and Kerung in China. Some goods have been loaded into containers, while most are in warehouses. After the closure of the Rasuwa border crossing, some goods stored in Kerung are stranded there. Goods brought to Tatopani have also not been able to enter.
As it has become difficult to depend on the Tatopani border, businessmen have also started using the Korala customs border in Mustang. However, businessmen have felt uncomfortable as it snows in the winter season and it is very far to travel and travel. Due to the closure of Tatopani and Rasuwa, commercial goods including electric vehicles were imported from Korala before Dashain. The Korala border is still in regular operation. However, it is not sure how long it will be easy due to the snow.
‘China has a tendency to show that the border is open but not create an environment for easy trade. We are being hurt when the Tibetan government does not understand the problems faced by businessmen due to not being able to import goods on time,’ said Ghimire. The Cross-Border Chamber of Commerce has also requested the Chinese Embassy in Nepal to take initiatives to facilitate trade by increasing the number of containers. ‘It would have been better if the Nepal government had taken more initiative in this. We, the private sector, are only providing information,' Ghimire said.
He estimates that traders' goods can enter Kathmandu on time only if 40 to 50 containers of goods are imported per day. Currently, only 15-20 containers of goods are being released per day, Ghimire said. Tatopani Customs Officer Ramesh Shah said that goods are not being imported as per the demand of traders. 'Goods are coming, but there is a shortage of containers as per the wishes of traders,' he said.
Shah said that Tatopani Customs has the manpower to inspect 40-50 containers of goods per day. He claims that the customs is facilitating trade by coordinating with the auction administration from time to time. He said that although containers of fruits are being sent with priority, not enough containers of other goods are being released. This has also directly affected customs revenue as the roads are blocked and sufficient containers are not allowed to come and go. Border administration officials say that the issue of releasing containers has not been given priority due to the ongoing repair of physical infrastructure in the Khasa and Tibet regions and the lack of coordination between local government offices. After the earthquake, the movement of people from the Miteri Bridge in Tatopani to Khasa has been completely stopped. Since last Ashar, pilgrims going to Mansarovar were allowed to use the Tatopani route due to the Miteri Bridge in Rasuwa being washed away. The earthquake-damaged Khasa is being repaired.
Tatopani is 9 km from Miteri Bridge to Khasa Bazaar and 35 km from Khasa to Nelam. After the goods purchased by Nepalis are brought to Nelam, the administration there has been limiting the number of cargo containers that can be sent to Tatopani via Khasa, 44 km towards Nepal. Although goods are allowed to be brought to Nelam, there are delays in sending them to the Tatopani checkpoint, complained Bhuwan Thapa, the operator of an auto transport company run by Nepalis. He says that goods stored in the Chinese territory can enter Nepal quickly by sending only 40-50 containers a day.
Containers of Chinese transport companies bring goods imported to Nepal across the Miteri bridge in Tatopani. From there, Nepali containers are brought to the dry port in Larcha of Tatopani Customs. Businessmen complain that trade through the Tatopani border crossing, which has not been able to operate smoothly for decades due to earthquakes, floods and landslides, and Covid, is always unstable under one pretext or another.
Tatopani is the shortest border crossing through which goods can easily enter Nepal when importing goods from various cities in China. Officer Shah said that it will be difficult to achieve the revenue target of 24.47 billion for the current fiscal year due to the decrease in trade. 3.31 billion in revenue has been collected in the three and a half months of the current year. According to the target, 6.5 billion in revenue should be collected during this period. But businessmen say that the situation has not been created to conduct trade through the border crossing, which is the only option for now.
