PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Pithoragarh
The India-China border trade through the Taklakot (Purang) market looks uncertain this year as well with China sitting on its final nod to the resumption of the trade suspended since 1992 following the COVID-19 pandemic. This is despite the fact that two countries have reached an agreement on the matter. Assuming that the final green signal from China was a certainty, the Indian traders reached Gunji. Nearly 3,000 quintals of jaggery and sugar candy, stored in Gunji, have started to rot due to continuous rain and humidity, while more than 28 traders have returned disappointed. Notably, China cites absence of sufficient shops and other basic facilities for the Indian traders in support of its refusal to allow trade-resumption.
Traders say that if business had resumed by June 27 as expected, more than half of their goods would have been sold by now.
Venting disappointment, the president of the Pithoragarh-based India-China Trade Committee, Jeevan Singh Ronkali said that while China has allowed Nepali traders to do business in Purang Mandi, the Indian traders have not yet been granted entry. “This is a discriminatory attitude against Indian traders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi stated that they had requested the Chinese authorities to allow the Indian traders to travel to Tibet without their goods to inspect the arrangements there. “The administration hopes to receive a positive response soon,” he added.
