Residents of Carmarong waiting for the opening of the border

They say that the Nakchenangla crossing is one of the 14 traditional crossings of Nepal, so they hope that the crossing will be opened this time. Since the corona epidemic, the residents of the entire Karmarong Rural Municipality have found it difficult to buy their daily necessities.

In the past, China used to open the northern border at Nakchenangla every year in June/July. At that time, residents of 17 settlements within Karmarong rural municipality used to go to Tibet to buy food. Once the goods were brought from there, it would roar for years. But the local Tenzing Guru Tamang said that life has become difficult since the Covid epidemic.

He complains that since the northern border has been closed for a long time, even the local products are not getting a fair price. Earlier, herbs such as Attis, Katuki, Vanalsun, Yarsa collected in the forest area used to be exported to Tibet, but now, when the border is closed, local people buy herbs from the village. ; There is an obligation to bring it to Gamgarhi by horse and mule and from there put it in a vehicle and take it to India via Nepalgunj and sell it.

Yangjum Tamang, a resident of Karmarong, who used to bring salt, oil, rice, flour, tea leaves and smoke from the Tibetan hot market for up to a year to consume, said that now there is a problem.

'We are very sad now when the Tibetan border is closed,' Tamang from Chitai village said, 'We have to walk for two days to reach Gamgarhi and bring salt and rice oil to eat.'

According to him, if you are close to going to Tibet, even the daily necessities can be found cheaply. Even the market price of local goods is good in Tibet.

Chairman of Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality, Chhiringkapne Lama, said that since the border has been closed for four years, it has been difficult for the residents of the northern village to survive. There has been news of the opening of the traditional 14 checkpoints of Nepal. It also includes this checkpoint,' he said, 'The village is happy that this checkpoint will also be operational when everything is opened.' He demanded that China should open the border from this year anyway and the government should also take initiative for that.

According to him, the price of a 25 kg sack of rice in Gamgarhi is between 2,000 and 2,100 rupees. But when the same rice is delivered to Mugu, Chitai, Dolfu villages, it costs up to 4,450 rupees. Salt is available at the depot of Gamgarhi Salt Training Corporation at Rs 9 per kg. But it costs 75 rupees to reach the village. It takes two days on foot to reach Nakchenangla Tibetan border from Pulu, which is currently Karmarong Rural Municipality.

Ain Bahadur Shahi, a member of the House of Representatives, said that it was decided to open the northern border crossing of Mugu after a written request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "This time, after opening the border, it will be easier for the people of Karmarong to bring food," he said.