Kathmandu, September 30
Narayan Datta Bhandari, chief of the Division Road Office in Charikot, has said the road on the Nepali side is not an obstacle to reopening the Tatopani border point with China.
He said there was currently no need to stop vehicle movement because of the condition of the road.
China has closed the Tatopani border point citing road conditions on the Nepali side. A joint team comprising representatives of the Chinese side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, customs officials, the Department of Roads, Sindhupalchok District Administration Office and security agencies inspected landslide-affected sections of the road.
During the inspection, Bhandari said vehicles could continue to operate on the road and that there was no condition requiring a complete halt to traffic.
He said any necessary improvements could be completed within one or two days, allowing the border point to resume operations.
According to Bhandari, vehicles had continued operating one-way on the Nepali side even during the monsoon. With the rains now easing, work has begun to improve the road for two-way traffic.
He said the Chinese side had stopped vehicle movement citing difficult road conditions on the Nepali side, but the actual situation was not as serious as claimed.
Bhandari said a joint inspection involving a Chinese technical team was carried out after concerns were raised that the condition of the Nepali road was the reason for the border closure.
He said the road would not obstruct vehicle movement once the border point reopened.
“From the road’s perspective, there is no situation where vehicles cannot pass. If some improvement is needed, we can complete it within one or two days. Until now, it was the monsoon season and we were operating one-way traffic. There is no problem with that even now. Once the rains have stopped, we can allow two-way traffic,” he said.
“We will clear everything within two or three days. We will make the necessary preparations to allow all types of vehicles to pass from here. Once the border is opened, vehicles will not have to wait even for an hour. They can pass directly. The road will not be an obstacle if the border is reopened,” he added.
Bhandari said 57 containers measuring 45 feet had already been allowed to pass from the Nepali side. He also said loaded vehicles that had been stranded along the road had been sent to their destinations.
Bhandari said the Department of Roads had made the Nepali side of the road ready for vehicle movement.
The Tatopani border point has remained closed since a landslide occurred along the Kodari Highway. The Kerung border point has also been closed following floods in Rasuwa on August 26, while the Korala border point in Mustang has been affected by recent floods and landslides.
With the major border points with China closed, the government has been making efforts to reopen the Tatopani border point.
