Indian traders complain of losses due to early closure of trade
Indian traders complain of losses due to early closure of trade
B.D.Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, October 30
Indian traders who participated in the Indo-China border trade through the Lipulekh Pass this year have complained of losses due to the premature closure of trade five days ahead of the scheduled date of October 31. They said they could have exchanged more goods had the trade continued until its originally scheduled closing date.
The Indo-China border trade through the Lipulekh Pass resumed on June 1 this year after a gap of seven years, the trade officer said.
According to trade department sources, Indian traders exported goods worth Rs 74,95,325 during the trade period, which concluded on October 26, against imports worth Rs 74,51,402. The exported items included jaggery, sugar candy, pulses, utensils, readymade garments and dry fruits, while the imported goods comprised carpets, quilts, goat wool and yak tails.
“We faced several other difficulties this year as well. For the first time since the border trade resumed in 1992, Indian traders were required to provide their QR codes and fingerprints to Chinese officials on reaching Taklakot in Tibet,” said Mahesh Singh Hyanki, a trader who recently returned from Tibet.
“Even the transportation of goods from the Indian trade mart at Gunji to Taklakot was restricted. Unlike the period up to 2019, when Indian traders could transport goods whenever they wanted during the trade season, this year we were allowed to take goods across the border only three times since the trade began on June 1,” Hyanki said.
According to the trader, Chinese authorities directed Indian traders to return on October 26 instead of October 31, citing adverse weather conditions and heavy snowfall.
“We could transport only 70 per cent of the goods stored at the Indian trade mart in Gunji to Tibet,” he said.
The traders also faced inconvenience due to the shifting of the shopping complex for Indian traders to a new location from its earlier site, where it had been situated for seven years. “This also resulted in a decline in the number of customers this year,” Hyanki said.
Trade Officer and SDM Dharchula Ashish Joshi said that, keeping in view the difficulties faced by Indian traders this year, efforts would be made to introduce necessary improvements from next year in accordance with the directions of the concerned Union government ministry.
