Mustang. KATHMANDU: Export and import from Nepal-China North Korala border point in Upper Mustang has been affected due to heavy snowfall on Tuesday.

Import and export via this border point have come to a complete halt since Wednesday due to heavy snowfall, according to the Mustang Customs Office.

This is the third time the snowfall occurred in Upper Mustang on Tuesday night. Earlier, there had been two snowfall this year. According to non-gazetted first class officer Jeevan Devkota working at the customs office at Lomanthang-2, Nhechung Choser, more than two feet thick snow has accumulated along the Jomsom-Korala road. Regular work of the customs office has also come to a halt as the road has been completely blocked due to snowfall.

A dozen containers bound for import to China are stranded at the Mustang Customs Office at Chhoser in Lomanthang-2. According to Nayab Subba Devkota, some containers have cleared the customs clearance while some containers were in the process of declaring customs duty due to which they could not leave for their destinations due to the complete closure of the Kagbeni-Korala road.

Some containers which had gone to import goods to the Chinese customs at Korala checkpoint before the snowfall have been stranded there. Information Officer at the District Police Office, Santosh Basyal, said heavy snowfall has completely disrupted the Kagbeni-Korala road section. According to him, it will take few more days to resume traffic as two feet of snow has accumulated around 90 kilometers along the Korala road.

Tejaswi Sharma, chief of the Beni-Jomsom-Korala Road Project of Kaligandaki Corridor Road Project, said that the project was committed to resume the obstructed road at the earliest possible and necessary equipment would be mobilized from today to clear the snow from Chhusang of Waragung Mukti Kshetra-3.

Police Inspector Suraj Shrestha, in-charge of the Armed Police Force Nepal (BOP) at Chhoseer, said that the local businessmen who had set up tents at Korala checkpoint due to heavy snowfall have also returned home. Life in the district has become difficult as cold has increased following snowfall. The temperature in upper Mustang is minus 20 degrees Celsius while the lower Mustang is minus 12 degrees Celsius. Livestock and herders have also been facing problems due to extreme cold.