Kathmandu, Sept 1: Cargo movement through the Tatopani border point with China has been temporarily suspended again. According to information provided by the Chinese side, imports through the border point, which had resumed from the second week of Bhadra, have once again been temporarily halted.
The road on the Nepali side had been damaged since July 17, leaving the border point almost closed to cargo traffic.
After a Department of Roads team carried out repairs, the road was temporarily reopened. Eight containers entered Nepal through Tatopani on August 28. No additional containers have entered Nepal since then.
The Chinese side has now informed Nepal that cargo movement has been temporarily suspended. No specific date has been given for its resumption.
Dipendra Prakash Giri, chief customs officer at the Tatopani Customs Office, said Chinese authorities had promised to provide fresh information as soon as the border point reopens.
Transport operators initially received information that cargo movement had been halted. Nepali customs officials then contacted their Chinese counterparts by message and were told that the suspension was only temporary.
Officials from Nepal and China communicate through liaison officers. Nepali officials suspect that the damaged road and landslides at several locations may also have made it difficult for Chinese authorities to carry out work near the border.
Chinese customs officials who normally work close to the border have now been moved uphill to Khasa. The Nepali side believes they may have been relocated to facilitate road repairs and administrative work.
The Bhotekoshi flood has also caused extensive damage at the Rasuwagadhi border point. After the road on the Nepali side was damaged, traders had been trying to bring goods stranded in Kerung into Nepal through Tatopani.
With cargo movement now halted at Tatopani as well, Nepal may have to rely on the Korala border point for land-based trade with China in the immediate term.
Under normal circumstances, more than 10 containers of goods entered Nepal through Tatopani each day. At present, however, only a small volume of goods remains pending customs clearance.
Nepali officials are currently unable to hold meetings with their Chinese counterparts across the border as they did previously. The Nepali side has proposed holding discussions even from the middle of the Miteri Bridge.
Officials are preparing to assess the situation at the border once they receive a response from the Chinese side.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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