The Korala customs checkpoint on the northern border of Mustang is becoming deserted again with the onset of winter. Due to the extreme cold, business and commercial activity here is at a standstill. This has affected everything from businessmen to customs officials, while uncertainty has also increased in the revenue collection expected by the state.

Businessmen who ordered goods from China used to stay in a hotel in Lomanthang, Mustang, but now the hotel is also closed due to the cold. Businessmen there have reached Pokhara and Kathmandu. They always go to the city to escape the cold from Mangsir to Falgun. Due to the cold, employees of the Mustang Customs Office have also started falling ill.

This border crossing is at an altitude of 4,600 meters. Due to the cold, cargo containers have not been able to cross the border to pick up goods. Now, businessmen have 'cancelled' orders for goods entering through this border crossing for a few months. China's Liji is 500 meters away from the Korala border crossing, from where containers enter Nepal with goods. The customs office is in Nechung, which is at an altitude of 3,900 meters. Ramesh Khadka, an officer at the customs office, which is 14 kilometers from Nechung to Korala border crossing, said. The temperature here in the morning is minus 12 degrees.

Currently, only 30-40 containers are yet to be cleared through customs, and this work will be completed within a week at most. ‘There has been a lot of trouble due to the cold, it is difficult for goods to arrive at this checkpoint until Falgun,’ said Khadka. He said that hoteliers in Lomanthang have already closed their hotels and started walking. ‘Businessmen who order goods go and stay there, and since the goods are still awaiting clearance, the hoteliers had opened hotels at the request of the businessmen,’ he said. ‘After the hotel is closed, businessmen have problems staying and eating.’ The customs office, however, does not close. Due to the cold, water does not flow from the tap from 10 pm to 10 am, it freezes. It is almost the same until Falgun.

The annual revenue collection target of the customs office is 1.2 million 1000 rupees. After the closure of the Rasuwa and Tatopani checkpoints, the Korala checkpoint was opened. So far, the Mustang Customs Office has collected 4.41 billion 5.9 million rupees in revenue, more than the set target. Similarly, 1,761 electric vehicles have also entered through this checkpoint.

After the Rasuwa and Tatopani checkpoints were closed during the festive season, goods that were supposed to come through those checkpoints were imported through Korala. Rasuwa Customs has been closed since Asad 24 due to flood damage. Korala checkpoint has been operational since Bhadra 21.

Rasuwagadhi checkpoint was closed after the flood in Lhende River washed away the concrete bridge connecting the checkpoint. Prepared goods, apples and other fruits were imported through this checkpoint. About 100 containers used to move back and forth daily. Most electric vehicles used to enter through this checkpoint. But now the import is closed. Tulsi Prasad Bhattarai, Chief Officer of Rasuwa Customs Office, said that it has not been decided when the checkpoint will open. ‘The construction of the bailey bridge connecting the checkpoint has been completed, CCTV cameras are being installed and gates are being constructed,’ he said, ‘but about Rs 20 billion in revenue collection has been lost by Mangsir of the current fiscal year.’

He said that since the checkpoint was not operational in Mangsir, revenue collection will be zero this month as well. ‘The revenue used to be higher during Dashain-Tihar, when the checkpoint was closed. Now is the time to import winter clothes, when revenue used to be higher,’ Bhattarai said. There is also a problem on the 16-kilometer road from Syafrubensi to the checkpoint. ‘Currently, the road is in one-way operation, and even if the checkpoint is opened, there will be problems due to the narrow road,’ he said, ‘There is a risk of traffic jams when large containers enter.’

Bhattarai said that even after the flood, the customs yard was not repaired. He said that the work was to be done through the Intermodal Transport Development Committee, but no work was done despite correspondence. The customs office says that no one has paid attention to opening the border crossing as soon as it has been closed for five months. The office has stated that the locals have also lost their livelihood due to the long closure of the border crossing. The Rasuwa Customs Office has set a revenue collection target of Rs 40.16 billion in the current fiscal year. Since the border crossing is closed, revenue has not been collected since the start of the new fiscal year.

The Tatopani border crossing in Sindhupalchowk was closed repeatedly due to landslides and has been operational since 8 Ashoja, but not enough containers have been able to enter through this border crossing. China has not been sending many containers from there. Information Officer Tul Bahadur Pandey of the Tatopani Customs Office, Larcha, said that goods have not been arriving properly through the border crossing.

‘Two days a week, Sunday and Wednesday, electric vehicles and vehicle parts are entering,’ he said, ‘Containers carrying ready-made goods and fruits enter on other days.’ Currently, 20-25 containers enter Nepal daily. ‘This number is very low,’ he said, ‘earlier, 30-40 used to come in a day.’ He said that he had received information that fewer containers were being sent due to construction work being done in Khasa. ‘Now, goods that were stopped for preparations and Dashain are also coming in,’ Pandey said, ‘Winter clothes are also coming in.’ This border was opened for only 5/6 days in Shrawan. It was closed for the entire month of Bhadra. ‘Therefore, the revenue target is not being met,’ he said, ‘Goods coming from here during festivals entered Nepal through the Korala border.’