Mustang folks demand operation of Korala transit point

 After Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal left for a week-long visit to China, the issue related to the operation of Korala transit point bordering Tibet Autonomous Region of China has emerged as a public concern.

In the context when both the countries have yet to materialise operations of Korala transit point, the Prime Minister’s official visit to China has boosted local people's confidence about its operations.

Following the agreement with Nepal to open various eight more transits including Korala point, the Chinese side has completed necessary preparations for the same. At the transit, China has protected its land with a barbed wire fence. It has placed security arrangement and also built a building in the no man’s land. The Chinese side has already blacktopped the road up to the border, and has made all preparations for a port, security post and customs office.

China has completed all preparations for the operations of Korala transit, and it wants a guarantee of security sensitivity from the Nepali side along with preparations, said Namdu Gurung, member of the Gandaki Province Assembly.

As China has completed all the preparations for the operations of the transit, there is a hope for agreement during Prime Minister Dahal's visit for the operations of the transit considered to be a lifeline of the economic development of Gandaki Province, he said. The border is important in terms of both transit and tourism. If the border can be brought into operations, flow of international trade and religious tourism will begin. Largely the transit plays a role in the development of Mustang and Gandaki Province.

"We have been continuously raising our voice on the issue before the provincial government and the Province Assembly. Even the federal government is aware of the matter,” he said.

In the Korala transit lying in the flat land of the desolate Himalayan desert, the only identity of Nepal at the border is the pillar number 24 with ‘Nepal’ written on it. During the official visit of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in March, 2016, a trade and transit agreement was signed with China. During the visit in June 2018, an agreement was reached between the two countries to open additional transits.

There has been a delay in the construction of the Myagdi section of the under-construction Beni-Jomsom-Korala road targeting the Korala transit. The under-construction Kaligandaki corridor road, which is considered very important in terms of transit and trade, is the basic infrastructure of the Korala transit.

The graveling and blacktopping of the road up to Korala through Ghansa and Jomsom has reached its final stage. But the construction of the road between Beni and Ghansa has been affected due to factors like floods, landslides and river erosion.

While the famous Korala border has drawn widespread attention between the two countries, the trade fair which had been traditionally taking place biannually has been closed for four years, said Tasi Nharbu Gurung, chairperson of the Lo Manthang Rural Municipality.

As the Chinese side has showed its desire to open the crossing this year after completing the construction of the entire infrastructure and halting the trade fair, the news that the issue will be taken up during the visit of the Prime Minister to China has made residents of Mustang become confident that there will be further progress in the border operations, he said.

The acquisition of around 1,000 ropanis of land has been completed for the construction of the infrastructure for an integrated customs office on Korala transit premises, and soil testing has been also done. The soil was tested after the Ministry of Commerce released the budget for the survey and detailed project report.

According to the district administration office, Mustang, a team assigned to test the soil examined the soil in the proposed site to build infrastructures at the Korala transit. Targeting the Korala transit, a border police post has been set up in Lo Manthang, and an area police office at Nechung of Chhoser. Keeping in view of the border security, a border outpost of the Armed Police Force has been established at Nechung, around 20 km away from the Korala crossing.

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