Kathmandu. Three years ago, the Nepal-China North Korala border was limited to Lomanthang and Loghekar Damodar Kunda rural municipalities of Upper Mustang. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the gates of the Korala border point were opened only for a limited time in the months of June and August every year in the Tibetan land of China.
The Chinese side used to conduct a short-term cross-border trade fair in the Tibetan land of Korala border to purchase daily consumables for the citizens of the Nepal-China border area. Due to Covid, China unilaterally closed the Korala border point for four consecutive years.
The Nepal-China North Korala border point, which was closed for four years due to Covid, was opened for the citizens of two rural municipalities of Upper Mustang on November 12, 2008 after the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal visited China. The people of the border areas were happy after the Chinese side opened the Korala border point, which was closed for a long time.
Before the closure of the closed border, the Chinese side had given the message that the border was officially opened by the Nepali side with the participation of the Nepali side and fireworks. However, the Chinese side did not open it for all Nepalis. The Korala checkpoint, which was opened only to the citizens of Upper Mustang, was later made easier by distributing cross-border passes to the citizens of Lower Mustang (Nechung-Liji).
Although the Nepal-China North Korala border point was opened for the citizens of Mustang throughout the year, the transaction of export and import at the border was limited to a small extent at the local level. The people living on the border and some lower castes used to buy daily consumables from Liji Haat Bazaar in Korala, China, but the Chinese side allowed the Nepalis to bring only a limited amount of goods to their land for export. At that time, the Mustang Customs Office used to collect only Rs 10 to 150 million as annual revenue.
Expanding as the main border point
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The door of Korala border point, which used to run normally, has become somewhat dynamic after September 31 last year. After the complete closure of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi border points connecting the northern border points due to floods, landslides and river erosion in June and August last year, Korala border point was presented with an alternative import and export route. With the decision to make Korala border point fully operational, staff were added to the Mustang Customs Office. The volume of exports and imports started increasing. Although the border point was fully operational, no attention was paid to infrastructure construction.
{{TAG_OPEN_div_67} The checkpoint, which was fully operational from September 14, 2082 BS, started undergoing a big change in revenue collection compared to before. The citizens of the border areas also started getting alternative employment opportunities. Korala border point and the Mustang Customs Office there have become very bustling and bustling at this time. The reason for this is the complete closure of Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani border points.
TAG_OPEN_div_65 The Rasuwagadhi border point has been completely closed due to the severe floods in Bhotekoshi of Rasuwa on the morning of August 24. The border point may have to wait for a long time to return to its previous state. The Tatopani border point has also not been opened yet. In such a situation, Korala is the only border point representing the three northern borders.
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