Mustang. Until last year, the Upper Mustang was virtually unmanned. Before the winter season, most of the people of Upper Mustang used to venture into the valley to escape the cold and run mobile businesses.

Most of the people of Upper Mustang have been going down the valley for centuries to escape the cold and to run a mobile business. Most of the people of Lomanthang and Loghekar Damodar Kunda rural municipalities on the Nepal-China border used to come down to the valley after bringing the crops to their homes during the rainy season. The daily life in Upper Mustang was very difficult with the extreme cold, the risk of snowfall. Due to extreme cold, water taps, toilet safety tanks and irrigation canals in Upper Mustang get frozen like ice.

In this way, due to extreme cold and snowfall in winter, life becomes difficult and no work can be done in winter, so the people there have been forced to descend to the valley. All the educational institutions here also come down to the valley before October to escape the cold and conduct mobile classes. This time too, all the educational institutions in Upper Mustang have come down. Students are unable to attend school due to extreme cold, students are suffering from cold and pneumonia due to cold and parents are also falling into the valley.

Most of the people of Upper Mustang locked their houses to avoid the risk of extreme cold and snowfall. Except for a few senior citizens and shepherds who took care of yakchauri and sheep and mountain goats, all the Mustangs used to come to Pokhara and Kathmandu during this time. Some people traveled to different cities of India to trade in sweaters. Similarly, the Upper Mustangis who had descended to the valley before October used to return to their original position only in March-April.

But now the situation in Upper Mustang has changed a lot. There has been a tradition of descending the valley for centuries and the historical practice here has started changing. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal-China used to run for a limited time in June and August every year as a short-term inter-country trade fair. After COVID-19, on November 12, 2080, China opened the Upper Mustang of Korlana for twelve months. But even though the border point was partially opened, Upper Mustang was still not able to run its trade properly. Still, some people were running their business by setting up tarpaulins at the checkpoint.

When Korlana became fully operational on September 30, it opened doors for alternative employment for Upper Mustang. The Nepal-China trade route at Korala border point has been fully opened after floods and landslides blocked Tatopani and Rasuwagadhina checkpoints. The Mustang Customs Office has so far contributed revenue worth around Rs four billion through this customs point.

Most of the people of Upper Mustang have been able to do business and temporary alternative employment from the border point with the full operation of Korlana River, said Karma Namgel Gurung, ward chair of Lomanthang-2. According to him, until last year, 90 percent of the people of Upper Mustang had come down to the valley to escape cold, but this year only partial people have come down to the valley. Ward Chair Gurung said that more than three dozen people from Upper Mustang have been running their trade by constructing tents in the Nepal-China no-man’s land area.

Ward Chair Gurung said that the local youths have got good jobs in trade at Korala border point, in the Chinese haat bazaar, in loading and unloading Nepal-China import and export goods and in importing electric cars (EVs) imported from China to Nepali customs from Chinese customs.

He said the youths of Korlana earn around Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 a day once the municipality comes into full operation. He said that more than five hundred people have got employment both inside and outside the border point.

According to Lopsang Chhomphel Bista, chairperson of Damodar Kunda Rural Municipality, two-thirds of the residents of Upper Mustang have remained in the same place due to the increase in commercial and tourist activities at the Korala checkpoint. With the opening of the road, Mustangis are enjoying themselves. Last year, around 80 per cent of the population used to go to the Valley to escape cold, but this year 30 per cent people from Lomanthang and 50 per cent from Loghekar Damodar Kunda Rural Municipality have gone to the Valley to escape cold.

Likewise, the hotels operating along the Jomsom-Korala road route have been reopened as it is after the full operation of Korlana while all the hotels in Lomanthang bazaar are in operation, said Umesh Poudel, chief of ACAP Lomanthang. “Some houses have been locked and people have come down to the valley, most of the hotels and some houses are occupied.

Mayor Poudel said that daily life has also been adversely affected in Upper Mustang due to increasing cold with the arrival of winter. “It reaches minus 20 degrees Celsius in the morning and evening, the canals, taps and safety tanks freeze and although it is possible to walk in the sun during the day, it is not possible to go out in the morning and evening,” said Poudel.

Ramesh Poudel, chief of the customs office, said that more than three hundred containers are waiting for the loading and unloading of goods at the Nepal-China Korala transit point. Customs chief Poudel further informed that people have queued up at the Chinese Customs, Korlana Point and Mustang Customs Office for import of goods and for customs clearance.