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Nepal is in talks with China to resume transport services through the Tatopani border crossing, which has remained closed since August 26 following severe floods and landslides, a minister said Tuesday.
Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal told a parliamentary committee that the government was in regular contact with Chinese officials to reopen the Tatopani trade route, which links Nepal with Tibet.
He said Nepal was also working to resume operations at the Rasuwagadhi border crossing in Rasuwa district, another major trade and transit route with China.
Tatopani, about 110 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu, is an important trade route between Nepal and China. The Nepal-side road leading to the crossing has already been reopened, Lamsal said.
“There is no problem in operating the border point from our side,” he told the Parliamentary Special Committee on the Impact of Climate Change in the Himalayas, Climate Justice and the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli Disaster.
However, Chinese authorities have yet to resume operations at Tatopani amid continued concerns over damage and landslide risks on the Chinese side and along connecting routes.
The Rasuwagadhi crossing was also severely damaged by a glacial collapse and rock-ice avalanche on August 26, which triggered a destructive debris flood along the Lhende, Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers.
Lamsal said the recent floods and landslides had made it difficult to immediately reopen both border points.
“We are also in regular communication with the Chinese side,” he said, adding that the government was working on ways to reopen Rasuwagadhi.
The minister said the government was also taking steps to rebuild and restore infrastructure damaged by the recent disasters.
