Nepalis demand re-opening Tinkar border crossing with China

The villagers of Darchula, Nepal, have demanded the opening of Tinkar Naka saying that the traditional trade with China has been stopped. Since 2020, the Tinkar border crossing has been closed in the wake of Corona pandemic.

Vyas rural municipality has demanded to open the border saying that there is a loss in trade with China due to the closure of the border. Traders who have been doing business in Taklakot, China, have not been able to do business in this area for three years.

As more than three dozen traders are in trouble, the rural municipality has requested the government to open the border crossing through the chief district officer of Darchula, Gilgraj Upadhyay.

Village Chairman Mangalsingh Dhami said that Changru and Tinkar, which have been doing traditional trade with China, are facing problems due to non-opening of local border crossings. He said, ‘The main occupation of the locals here is trade with China. Most of them have shops in Taklakot. However, the shop has been locked for three years.

Even though Nepal’s Hilsa, Rasuwagadhi and other border crossings, which are connected to China, have been opened, the Tinkar crossing has not been opened. Yogesh Bohra, a resident of Byans Rural Municipality-1, said that the closure of the main road connected with the livelihood of the citizens here caused a problem.

It has been stopped for three years because the goods are being imported from China and are being traded in various places in India and Darchula. In the past, locals used to travel easily through this crossing.

China has constructed a number one road connecting Nepal-China near the border pillar. By the road, the vyans used to use horses and carts for similar transportation. As the border is not opened, the business of the Vysanis is almost at a standstill,” said a local Bohra.

Jitsingh Bohra of Vyans-1 Changru says that because he could not import goods from China, he now has to bring them from Kathmandu and sell them at the Mela Mahotsav in India. “In the past, goods were imported from China at a cheaper price,” he said, “now there is no benefit in bringing them to Kathmandu.”