On October 14th, when the Home Minister Ramesh Lakkar inaugurated the immigration office in Korlanaka, the local residents were hopeful that the economic activity through Korlanaka would increase. But the service, which was closed a few days after the inauguration, could not be started even when May began.

Since the immigration office cannot operate for a long time, it has hit the local businessmen . The immigration office towards Nepal is locked. There is confusion as to when the office will be operational.

Customs and necessary animal and food quarantine have not been established for the operation of the checkpoint. Quarantine operations are necessary for the customs office to operate. The locals are complaining that the government is not showing any initiative for the operation of Korlana.

After the opening of the immigration office, it was hoped that it would be easier to cross the border and conduct business transactions, but that did not happen, according to Tsi Nyharvu Gurung, chairman of Lomanthang Rural Municipality. According to him, the security system at the checkpoint is also not good.

Near the border, there is no infrastructure for people to stop there because there is no infrastructure other than the tin-covered charkothe ​​building in Nepal. So much so that when it rains, there is no place for it to overflow. "The border crossing is 21 km from Lomanthang, although there is a police post (the last post in this area) at Nhechung, which is 13 km before reaching the border, the police presence at the border is weak," he said.

 It is difficult to sustain for a long time because there is no infrastructure at the gate and the cold wind blows at a high speed. Therefore, the policemen have been going to the checkpoint from Nhechung in the morning and returning in the evening. In Korlanaka, on the Chinese side, there is a well-equipped immigration office, customs and security personnel.

'The government has not even arranged for normal tents, there is no building for security personnel, even though there is an electric pole, the electricity has not reached,'  he said, 'If the infrastructure can be built and the border can be operated effectively, the residents of Lomanthang and Lo-Ghekar Damodarkund Rural Municipality of Mustang would benefit.'

He says that they have a problem because drinking water and landline phone facilities are not available at the border. According to Gurung, the entry of Chinese tourists to Nepal will also be easy if the border is operational. "Even now, Chinese tourists are willing to spend up to five hundred dollars from China to come to Nepal, but there is a problem because the immigration office on the Nepal side is not operational," Chairman Gurung said.

According to Jigme Angma Gurung, who is doing business in Korlanaka, due to lack of building, traders are forced to do business in the open square. "Even now we are doing business in the open square, there is a problem when it rains and there is a wind," he said. Traders like him go to China at 9:00 in the morning and return from there by 2:00 in the afternoon. 

Local residents have been buying daily consumables, alcohol, furniture and clothing items from the Chinese market. It is possible to export rice, buckwheat flour, chiura, noodles, herbs, pashmina and other goods from Nepal.

is also politically important to Korlana. After the 2072 earthquake, Tatopani and Kerung were discussed along with this channel. Gurung, a businessman, believes that this sector can get a big economic benefit if this border is operationalized smoothly.

According to him, it is necessary for those who do business and reach the border to be comfortable. There are many problems due to lack of infrastructure. Locals of Lo-Ghekar Damodarkund and Lomanthang Rural Municipality of Upper Mustang will be given entry passes so they can easily go to China, while special passes have been arranged for others .

In order to open an integrated customs office in Korlanaka, the government started the process of bringing 1,344 ropani land under the name of the customs office four years ago, but the construction of the necessary structure has not yet started. However, it has been demarcated and recommended. 

In order to check the goods brought from Korlanaka, it is necessary to reach Nhechung at a distance of 13 km. Locals complain that Nepal has not been able to build infrastructure even though China has arranged checkpoints near the border.

This pass is also considered suitable for going to Kailash and Mansarovar, the center of faith of Hindus in Tibet. Dhongwasen is 40 km from Lomanthang towards Tibet. Mansarovar can be reached after covering a distance of about six hundred kilometers from there. Local experts say that if the checkpoint is operated smoothly, it can become the shortest and easiest way to reach Kailash Mansarovar from Nepal. 

In the last few years, domestic tourists have reached Korlana. There is no provision of drinking water and toilets for them. Tourists take pictures at pillar number 24 there and return .  Although there is road access to reach there, there are no accommodation facilities, so tourists have to wander around for some time and return. According to the police in Nhechung, 300 vehicles arrive on an average daily during the tourist season.

Earlier, in the second week of October last, the team of the Finance and Development Committee under the Gandaki Provincial Assembly inspected Korlanaka and suggested to the government about the work to be done in Korlan in the immediate and long-term . Out of which, it was suggested that the work of water supply and toilets and waste management should be done immediately.

This crossing was completely closed in the year 2076 during the Corona epidemic. Four years later, it was put into operation on October 27, 2080. In the years before that, there was an international trade fair held twice a year in Baisakh-Jetha and Dasain. But after the corona epidemic, the trade fair has not been held.

The committee suggested that there is a need for physical structure and to make a commercial plan for the operation of the checkpoint. There have been many discussions between the officials of both countries regarding the effective operation of the border crossing. During the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to China, the operation of Korlana was discussed with interest.