Imports have come to a halt after the Bahrabise–Tatopani road, which connects the main trade checkpoint with China, has been blocked for one and a half weeks. Despite the closure of this checkpoint, which generates billions of rupees in revenue, locals and businesspeople raised questions and complaints to the team of ministers who visited for inspection on Sunday, saying there has been no effective initiative to reopen the road.

Locals expressed their dissatisfaction to the team, including Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Sunil Lamsal and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam, who reached Daklang and the Eco area for inspection, regarding the poor condition of the road, the risk of landslides, and the halt in trade.

“Honorable Minister, when will this road be repaired? Why was the tender not issued on time? Will it be fixed only after the monsoon starts? How much longer do we have to endure this suffering?” Mukhe Sherpa of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-1 asked Minister Lamsal. According to locals, 42 houses in the Daklang area are at high risk due to landslides. Stating that the entire settlement may need to be relocated, they demanded an immediate long-term solution. In response, Minister Lamsal assured that no work can be done by putting settlements at risk and said that necessary decisions would be made to move forward with solving the problem. “If the settlement needs to be relocated, a decision must be made for that. We cannot ignore the risk of disaster,” Minister Lamsal said.

According to Kumar Shrestha, Ward Chair of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-2, containers carrying goods worth millions from China have been stranded on the road since the blockage. He said that as perishable goods like apples and garlic have started to rot, efforts are being made to carry them to the customs yard. Traders are concerned about the security of goods stranded on the road. According to him, Rural Municipality Chair Pasang Nurbu Sherpa submitted a memorandum to Minister Lamsal, informing him of all the problems. “Although the process started in Baisakh, work to clear landslides in Daklang, Ghattikhola, and Eco areas and reopen the road has not yet begun. Now, not only vehicles but even walking is difficult. When will the government solve this problem?” said Ward Chair Shrestha of Bhotekoshi-2.

For the repair of this road, a contract worth Rs 484.9 million was signed and work had started in the last fiscal year. However, after the Chinese government expressed its intention to build the road, the government canceled the contract with the Nepali contractor in Baisakh. The contractor, who had already started work, was paid Rs 5.4 million by the government. “If the contract had not been canceled, this situation would not have arisen; it is a tragic situation,” Ward Chair Shrestha told the minister.

Tatopani Customs, which set a revenue target of Rs 25 billion for the current fiscal year, had aimed to collect Rs 1.76 billion in the month of Shrawan alone. However, due to the road blockage caused by landslides and the halt in vehicle movement, only Rs 289 million in revenue has been collected as of Friday.According to Narayan Datt Bhandari, Chief of the Charikot Road Division Office, the contract was canceled as per government instructions after the Chinese side assured that they would sign an agreement and start work within a week. However, even after four months, the Chinese side has not made contact. Representatives said the ministerial team returned after assuring that they would take the initiative to make the road operational and reopen the checkpoint as per the people's demands.

After inspecting the Eco landslide, the ministerial team held discussions with stakeholders at the Tatopani Dry Port and Customs Office. In the discussion, businesspeople said it was shameful for the state that the checkpoint, which collected Rs 14.52 billion in revenue last year, has been shut down due to the road. Tatopani Customs, which set a revenue target of Rs 25 billion for the current fiscal year, had aimed to collect Rs 1.76 billion in the month of Shrawan alone. However, as of Friday, only Rs 289 million in revenue has been collected.

Buddharaj Basnet, President of the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry, accused the government of making extremely weak efforts to reopen the road. Businesspeople said that the road blockage has caused problems not only for Nepal but also for bringing goods stranded in Chinese warehouses and roads into Nepal. Organizations related to border trade, including the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nepal Himalaya Cross-Border Trade Association, issued a statement on Saturday accusing the government of neglecting the problems of the northern checkpoint.

Arjun Sapkota, President of Nepal Truck Container Transport Service Pvt. Ltd., complained that the Nepal-China trade, local livelihoods, tourism, transport business, workers, and businesspeople have been severely affected due to the road blockage caused by landslides in the Eco and Daklang areas under the Tatopani checkpoint. “Although the risk of landslides has decreased compared to before, the road has still not been reopened due to a lack of necessary excavators, equipment, manpower, and effective coordination. This situation has left the people of the Bhotekoshi area extremely worried and distressed. Please address the people's suffering and complaints with seriousness,” he said.