Nathula Pass now open for trade after Sikkim Earthquake

CHANGU (SIKKIM): Nathula Pass, one of the three trading border posts between China and India, has been reopened for traffic after being hit by a recent earthquake that jolted India, Nepal and Tibet.

Locals expressed their delight over the reopening of the pass and said they were thankful to the army personnel for providing them with food and medical treatment, after the earthquake ravaged the region.

"The road has been reopened, the public is relaxed as we are now getting the basic facilities and food. All the efforts have been made by the army, the army personnel provided us with food, water, medical treatment," said Phurba Sherpa, a local. "As the pass has reopened, now our major priority is arrival of tourists. With the arrival of tourists, we would be able to retrieve our lives," Sherpa added.

Source: India Times

Indian and Chinese Officials to hold meeting at Nathu-la Sikkim

Gangtok , Sikkim : Indian and Chinese Army officers are planning to hold a flag meeting on the Line of Actual Control at Nathu-la in Sikkim later this month to discuss confidence building measures.

However, it is not yet clear whether the two sides would discuss or not about the China’s demand for closure of two bunkers on the Indian side of the border at the tri-junction of Sikkim, West Bengal and Bhutan near Batungla pass.

“These bunkers are not new. They have been in existence for a while. So, if there is any other new demand on these bunkers, the issue will be handled at the diplomatic level,” said an Indian Army official.

“It is certainly not in response to this demand if at all it has been made,” the official, added.
Indian and Chinese Army officials regularly hold meetings under the September 1993 agreement on maintaining peace and tranquility along the LAC, the November 1996 agreement on CBMs in the military field along the LAC and April 2005 protocol between the two governments on the modalities for implementing CBMs along the LAC.

Earlier, the international border meeting between India and China at Nathula was held on 17 May this year.

While Brigadier Mr SL Narsimhan led the Indian Army delegation, the People’s Liberation Of Army delegation from China was led by Senior Colonel Mr Shi Hui Yang, officials, said.

Source: The Statesman

Fake Chinese Trader cheats Local Trader

Even after a year of reopening the trade through the Nathula Border may have been nothing much to talk about, a fraud case has surfaced, which may further undermine the significance of this historical Pass.

A trader from Gangtok was recently cheated at the Rinchengueng Trade Mart by a fellow trader from the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China.

Talking to SIKKIM EXPRESS today, the businessman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that he had been cheated by one of the Tibetan traders on a consignment of raw silk from China.

According to him, he had handed over 25,000 Yaun (which comes around to Rs. 10 lakhs in Indian currency) to one Mima on July 21 last month after an agreement signed between the two of them in the presence of other traders.

Mima used to carry out regular business from the Tibetan Autonomous Region. His business credential at the Border was identifiable by the registration number 0000741.

However, despite a prolonged wait, Mima never turned up with the said consignment of raw silk. “Sensing something foul, I repeatedly made calls to his mobile, but it appeared not in service,” the trader from Sikkim said. Later, an FIR was lodged at the Police Check Post in Nathula.

During an investigation by the Yatung Police of TAR some shocking facts surfaced. It was found out that the Mima was not a genuine trader and had forged the travel permit after paying a huge sum of 20,000 Yaun.

The Chinese Government, according to source information, had earlier rejected Mima’s plea for the issue of travel permit.

The TAR Police had assured the victim all possible help to nab the culprit. But later during a meeting, the local trader was informed by the TAR Police that they were unable to trace the person and suspected that Mima might have entered India after crossing the border on foot. All the relevant documents including the agreement have been kept by the Yatung Police.

The local trader said that he will file a FIR here at the Sadar Thana, and also inform the Department of Immigration, Ministry of Commerce and Industries and the Chinese Embassy.

“We had developed immense trust and faith amongst ourselves for the last one year but this incident shattered everything,” lamented the trader.

This is perhaps the first case of forgery reported after the re-opening of Nathula Trade route after a gap of 44 years last year.

Source: Sikkim Express

Advice for Nathu-la to be normal trading centre

Gangtok , Sikkim : A taskforce of the National Planning Commission has recommended that Nathu-la be developed as a land customs station to facilitate “normal” trade links between India and China.

Currently, the pass at 14,400ft is limited to border trade with only 44 items on the import-export list.

“The objective is to make this outpost a normal trading centre so as to increase trade,” said Shyam Saran, the special envoy of the Prime Minister. Saran said an additional 24 items have been identified by the Centre to be added to the list after a discussion with the Chinese government.

Describing the reopening of the pass as a positive development, the special envoy said both sides are keenly observing how trade develops in the near future.

“Once it becomes beneficial to both sides, other demands like bus services from Gangtok to Lhasa (in Tibet Autonomous Region) will become a reality.”

Saran was here to speak on role of border states in India’s foreign relations and regional economic cooperation, as part of the eminent persons’ lecture series organised by the Sikkim government.

The former foreign secretary also highlighted the need to link border states to neighbouring countries via road, rail and air for economic development. He said Sikkim’s geographical location was an asset to the country.

Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling and vice-chancellor of the central university Mahendra P. Lama were also present at the lecture today.

Source: The Telegraph

Nathu-la trade goods to be expanded and changed

Sikkim: Trade through Nathu-la is set for a change. The import-export list will be expanded and the nature of goods will be different, Jairam Ramesh said today.

To facilitate this, the Centre will also upgrade the infrastructure on the Indian side of the pass, the Union minister of state for commerce and industries added.

Ramesh arrived at Bagdogra this afternoon on his way to the Dooars to reopen a couple of closed tea gardens and formally launch the Special Purpose Tea Fund in north Bengal.

“It is true that by opening Nathu-la, political relationships have improved, but not the volume of trade. We are determined to expand the scale of international trade,” he told reporters at the airport.

At present, 15 items are imported from China and 29 exported from India through the pass located at 14,400 ft. “In this age, we sell items like rice products and camel tail to China. This can hardly be called a contribution. We took up the issue at the bilateral levels and it has been decided that more items will be added to both the import and export lists,” he said.

The minister said the Chinese had better facilities for trade through the Nathu-la than India. “The trade mart at Sherathang and other ancillary units have to be developed in the next couple of years.” He, however, said there were no plans at the moment to develop the Jelep-la, an all weather pass to China near Kalimpong.

“We admit that north Bengal has not been able to reap any benefits from this trade. Even the chief minister said so. We will look into the issue,” he said.

On a different note, Ramesh said the proposed tea park, which has triggered a tug of war between Bengal urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya and Jalpaiguri’s Congress MLA Debaprasad Roy, will be established “somewhere in the area”.

“Considering the demand raised by both of them, we have asked the tea board to conduct a survey to decide on the site,” he said. “But it is definite that there will be a tea park in north Bengal, which produces 25 per cent of the total Indian tea.”

Source: The Telegraph

1962 war and trade losses

Gangtok, Sikkim: It may be only a small step, but it has brought hope to second generation Nathu-la traders.

Sikkimese businessmen have sought Rs 20 crore as compensation from China for losses suffered by them after trading through the 14,400-ft border outpost was stopped in 1962 following the Chinese aggression.

The Chinese have agreed to look into the matter.

Many of these traders had family businesses at Yatung and other areas of the Chinese-occupied Tibet in the 1950s. They had been given 48 hours to wind up their trade, failing which they would have been arrested. About 100 traders from Sikkim and another 100 from Kalimpong fled China at that time. Nathu-la was sealed and remained shut for more than 40 years till it reopened on July 6, 2006.

The issue came up for discussion when the president of the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce, S.K. Sarda, paid a courtesy call on the Chinese delegation led by Bu Jianguo, the minister counsellor and deputy chief of mission of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. The team was on a recce of Nathu-la last week.

“When I told them about the losses suffered by the Indian traders, the delegation assured me that since they wanted to further the relationship between the two countries, they wanted the ill-will to be resolved once and for all,” said Sarda. He has been asked to submit documentary evidence of his claims so that the Chinese representatives could take it up with Beijing.

“Most of the traders had to leave their stocks behind and come back without even withdrawing a single penny from the Bank of China. The losses could add up to around Rs 20 crore,” the businessman said.

Sarda’s father P.C. Sarda, who owned the famous General Stores in Yatung then, was one of those who had lost his business to the 1962 war.

Motilal Lakhotia, one of the earlier generation traders, recounted having to leave behind his Indo-Tibet Trading Company. “All that I have now are old documents and bank account papers,” said the 84-year-old man.

Source: The Telegraph

Minimum import rules for Nathu-la trade

Nathu-la (Indo-China border), Sikkim: The Chinese feel that the number of items listed for trade through Nathu-la is loaded in favour of India.

While Indian traders can export 29 items, they can import only 15.

Bu Jianguo, the deputy chief of mission and minister counsellor of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, has promised to take up the issue with the Indian government. “If business is unilateral instead of bilateral, it is not good. We will see what can be done. The list of items has to be increased,” said Jianguo, before crossing over to China through the border outpost with a four-member delegation.

Another member of the group said the Indian government should adopt a liberal attitude. “Our list includes items like yak tail. These are of no use to anyone anymore,” he said.

It was 11 am when the group trudged in the drizzle tow ards the gate before being whisked away by Chinese officials who had come to receive them. Tangya, the district collector of Yadong, was among those present on the other side.

Jianguo was accompanied by Zhang Biao, third secretary and deputy chief of the political division, Liu Ran, the third secretary of the economic and commerce division, and Qian Junjun, the political attaché of the Chinese embassy.

Members of Indo-Tibet Traders’ Association from the Indian side headed by its president Chimmey Rinzing accompanied the delegation up to Renquinggang, the Chinese trade mart 21 km from the border.

Since the 14,400-ft border outpost reopened for trade on May 1 this year, business has been one-sided. While the export from India was around Rs 3 lakh, there were no imports from China.

This is the second official Chinese delegation to have crossed over to the Tibetan Autonomous Region through this border outpost. The first was led by Chinese ambassador Sun Yuxi on July 6 last year, when the border outpost first reopened after 42 years.

Jianguo, who had also visited Sherathang, the Indian trade mart 7 km from here, seemed satisfied with the infrastructure. “The Sikkim government has big plans. The prospect of both the countries seems bright. It is expected to increase with mutual understanding and trade.”

The Chinese team will call on chief minister Pawan Chamling and industries minister R.B. Subba after its return to Gangtok tomorrow.

Source: The Telegraph

Minimum trade at Nathu-la

Gangtok, Sikkim: The four-member team from the Chinese embassy in New Delhi may face a lot of complaints from traders from the other side when the delegates visit the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) on Monday.

For the Chinese businessmen, who have transactions at the 14,400-ft border outpost at Nathu-la, the main stumbling block is apparently the current list of items.

On Monday, the team is expected to head to Sherathang and inspect the trade mart on the Indian side. They will then cross over to TAR through Nathu-la and go to Renquinnggang. They will halt at Renquinnggang for a day and then return to India.

A month after trade through the border outpost re-started on May 1 this year, the transactions remains minimal at Rs 3 lakh for the past month, a source said. He added that the entire volume comprised exports from India. The import from China, according to the Indo-China Traders’ Association, has been reported as nil with even raw wool, the most traded item by the Chinese last year having failed to do any business this time.

To make the situation worse, the Chinese traders have reportedly stopped dealing with any of the items included in the trade list. Those are old and obsolete articles, the traders have claimed. Indian traders are allowed to deal with 29 articles while China 15, which included goods like wool, goat skin, yak tail, horses and silk.

Last year, besides the sanctioned articles, the Customs had relaxed regulations on small “gift” items and a few other commodities, a source said. This year, however, the Customs has become stricter and are allowing trade of only sanctioned goods.

The commerce ministry has already taken up the issue of listed articles, which is likely to be amended soon, said an official source.

Earlier this year, the increase in the ceiling for Indian traders from Rs 25,000 per person per day to Rs 1 lakh came as a huge relief. “The volume is not expected to go up if business is still limited to old and obsolete items,” a businessman said.

Source: The Telegraph

Trade ceiling lifted at Nathu-la

Gangtok, Sikkim: The Union commerce ministry has decided to increase the daily ceiling on trade through Nathu-la from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

The decision, which was prompted by a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office, was made known to traders through a notice issued by the directorate general of foreign trade yesterday. The news was confirmed by the Sikkim commerce and industries director, S.P. Subba, who admitted to receiving the official intimation.

Trade between India and China through Nathu-la was resumed in June 2006, but allowed only a limited basket of items both for exports and imports.

The raising of the ceiling has been a long-standing demand of traders on this route and the news brought cheer to businessmen who resumed trading through the pass after it opened for this year on Tuesday.

The demand had been placed by traders before Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh, during his visit to Sikkim last year. Traders feel that Ramesh had conveyed their demands to the Prime Minister’s Office. The decision to increase the ceiling comes days after a directive from the Centre to extend the trading season by three months. The season will now be from May 1 to November 30 instead of the prevalent schedule of June 1 to September 30.

“We are very grateful to the state and Union governments for increasing the trade ceiling. Because of the limit, business was hampered and hence trade along the route did not show the expected amount of growth,” Anil Gupta, the general secretary of the Indo-China Traders’ Association told The Telegraph, today. The Sikkim-based association is now hopeful that the other demands would also be met soon.

Source: The Telegraph