KATHMANDU: Traders have launched an agitation demanding the government take measures to bring the Rasuwagadhi customs point back into operation.
Trade activities via the customs point has come to a standstill for the last four and half months since the April 25 earthquake.
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Although the Rasuwgadhi-Kathmandu road opened two months after the earthquake, the Chinese side has sealed the Keyrung point.
“Before the earthquake, the customs point used to witness daily export transactions of Rs4 million,” Mukunda Prasad Poudel, secretary of Nepal-China-Keyrun Business Association, said. “Imports accounted to more than Rs10 million per day.”
Nepali exports, which have been stuck at Keyrung since the quake, have started to perish, traders say. “On top of that, the detention charge of vehicles is rising. Traders have to pay Rs8,000 per day in detention charges,” he said.
Traders accused the government of neglecting the customs point which generated millions of rupees of revenues before the quake.
Around 300 containers have been stranded along the border. “Trucks purchased taking bank loans might be ceased any time, as timely instalment payment has become impossible,” Nurpu Gyamjo Tamang, president of Pasang Lhamu Truck Container Entrepreneurs Association, said.
Trader Dharma Lal Shrestha said the government has turned deaf ears to their plight. Stoppage of the customs point ahead of the festive season, when consumption skyrockets, has irked the traders.
They have formed a joint struggle committee to pressure the government to bring the customs point back into normal operation at the possible earliest.
Last fiscal year, the customs point had collected revenue worth Rs270 million.
