Sikkim, July 17 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Sikkim is calling for the revival of trade with China through the Nathu-La pass, following the recent resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra along the same route.
Trade through the Nathu-La pass, located at 14,000 feet above sea level, was reopened in 2006 after being shut for 44 years. It was initially suspended after the 1962 India-China war.
However, trade through the pass, along with the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, was suspended again after the outbreak of Covid-19, which was first detected in China.
Sources said Sikkim Rajya Sabha member D.T. Lepcha met Aishwarya Singh, joint secretary in the commerce department of the Union ministry of commerce and industry, at Udyog Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday.
“During the meeting, the MP strongly advocated for the revival of the historic trade between India and Tibet through the Nathu-la pass in Sikkim,” said a source. The MP specifically referred to Tibet, not China, during the discussion.
Tibet was annexed by China in the 1950s.
The annual Nathu-La trade used to run for seven months, from May 1 to November 30. However, trade was allowed only four days a week — Monday to Thursday — with around 500 traders and over 300 vehicles involved.
While over 20 items could be imported, around 35 items were allowed for export through this border point.
The push from the Sikkim government follows the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu-La from June 20.
This year, the ministry of external affairs permitted the pilgrimage through both the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand and the Nathu-La pass in Sikkim.
Sources said 10 groups of pilgrims will travel through Nathu-La, while five batches will use the Lipulekh pass.
Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar are located in Tibet, near the source of four major rivers of Asia — the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali.
