Tatopani border point opened between Nepal and China

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Tatopani-border

The Tatopani-Khas border point connecting Nepal to China has been reopened. According to Nepali newspaper Kathmandu Post, Lal Bahadur Khatri, chief of Tatopani Dry port, told that the Chinese administration has allowed movement on behalf of Nepal.

Cargo-filled cargoes have started arriving in Nepal.

Khatri told that “three cargoes filled with three fruits and everyday things entered into Nepal from China on Tuesday”.

The Tatopani border was closed for repair work on the Friendship Bridge on 20 January. This is the bridge that connects Nepal to China.

Actually, the bridge was damaged due to rain in the Bhotekoshi river and the water of the lakes of the Nilam area of Tibet.

Rajkumar Paudel, the head of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipal Corporation, told Nepali media, “We felt that China would keep this border closed for the next three weeks as Lahosar festival in Tibet is on 12 February. It seemed that the border would be closed by then. But now the checkpoint is being opened a little bit. Due to the closure of the border for a long time, it had a lot of effect on the local traders.

On Monday, customs officials had said that the border could not be opened despite the repair work being completed as it had been snowing in China for the past few days.

The Tatopani-Khasa border was opened on May 29, 2019, after being closed for four years after the 2015 earthquake. After this, it was closed in January 2020 in view of the havoc of Kovid-19.

After this, in April last year, China agreed to open this border so that medicines and equipment related to the coronavirus could be transported. During this time, the movement of goods trains was almost stopped.

The Tatopani border point, starting from Kathmandu, is 115 kilometers long, which is an important route for trade from China to Nepal.

Nepal entered into an agreement with China on 15 October 1961 to create a road link between the two countries. Under this, there was talk of building an Eranico highway from Kathmandu to Khasa. Many western countries including India also opposed this agreement. According to the agreement, China built the Eranico Highway and it was opened in 1967. It is said that this road was built by the Chinese Army People’s Liberation Army. This was the beginning of reducing dependence on India.

However, this highway is called the most dangerous road in the world. Landslides occur continuously here and often this road is closed. Nepal does business with China through this route, but it is very difficult. Due to heavy rains here, landslides are common here. This 144 km long road is on a very steep slope and it is said that driving on it is like risking life.

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