Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Nepal is in talks with China to resume transport services through the Tatopani border point, which has remained closed after recent floods and landslides, Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal has said.
Lamsal told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the government was also working to restart operations at Rasuwagadhi, another major transit point on the Nepal-China border, after recent disasters disrupted movement through both routes.
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According to the minister, discussions are under way with Chinese officials to reopen the Tatopani trade route linking Nepal with Tibet. He said there were currently no problems on the Nepali side of Tatopani and the road on Nepal’s side had already been reopened. However, he said the Chinese side did not yet appear ready to resume operations at Tatopani.
The Tatopani border point, around 110 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu, is an important trade route between Nepal and China. Rasuwagadhi, another major trade and transit point, is in Rasuwa district, north of Kathmandu. The Rasuwagadhi crossing was catastrophically damaged by a massive high-altitude glacial collapse and rock-ice avalanche on August 26, which triggered a high-speed debris flood down the Lhende, Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, claiming at least 1,455 lives. Tatopani has remained suspended by Chinese authorities since August 26 following severe monsoon disruption, flash floods and continuing landslide risks along the border and connecting highways.
Lamsal told the Parliamentary Special Committee on the Impact of Climate Change in the Himalayas, Climate Justice and the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli Disaster that recent floods and landslides, including the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood, had made it difficult to immediately resume operations at the two major border points connecting Nepal with Tibet. “We are ready even now. There is no problem in operating the border point from our side. We are also in regular communications with the Chinese side. We are working on how to reopen the Rasuwagadhi border point,” he said. Lamsal also said the government was working to construct and restore infrastructure in areas affected by the recent disasters.
In sum, Nepal is pressing for the reopening of Tatopani and working to restore Rasuwagadhi, with the government saying the Nepali side of Tatopani is ready but broader operations remain affected by the damage caused by recent floods, landslides and the August 26 disaster.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
