SINDHUPALCHOK, Sept 20: The Tatopani border in Sindhupalchok has been eerily silent for the past 50 days. Transportation along the Barhabise–Tatopani section of the Araniko Highway has come to a complete halt due to a landslide in the area called Iku. The disruption has made it impossible to ferry goods through this crucial trade route.
Landslides, including those carrying debris, along various sections of the Araniko Highway—from Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality’s Daklang to Liping—have stranded containers carrying goods destined for Kathmandu. These containers are stuck along both the Chinese territory and the Nepali highway routes. Despite partial efforts to reopen the road that began on July 22, long-term repair work has yet to materialize.
The road closure has put both residents and business owners in a difficult situation. More than 1,500 containers are currently stranded on the Chinese side, carrying goods worth billions of rupees. Business owners report that items imported from China for the Dashain-Tihar festival cannot reach Nepal and remain stuck across the border.
“We had brought goods for Dashain, Tihar, Chhath, and other festivals via the Tatopani border, but the continuous road closure is putting these items at risk of spoilage,” said Bijay Sherpa, director of Silk Transport. He explained that over 1,500 containers remain stranded at various locations, including Chinese ports like Nyalam, Dhingre, Khasa, and Zhangbu, as well as Nepali locations such as Liping, Kodari, Tatopani, and customs points. The long delay has already led to the spoiling of perishable items such as fruits.
Sanjay Karn, supply head at Goldstar, stated that Dashain-targeted ready-made and raw materials for Goldstar shoes worth millions remain stuck in China. He criticized customs for prioritizing perishable items over other goods, leaving festival-targeted shipments stranded.
Tatopani border point to reopen in May
“We had imported raw materials worth around Rs 500 million for Dashain, but the road closure has prevented transport. On top of that, customs prioritizing fruits over other goods has caused huge losses for us,” he said.
Approximately 500 meters of the road have collapsed along various sections of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality on the Araniko Highway. Specifically, Iku has 250 meters affected, Daklang 110 meters, Panthali 100 meters, Larche 25 meters, and Ghattekhola 10 meters. On-site measurements conducted by the Department of Roads on Thursday confirmed around 500 meters of collapsed road in these sections.
Bulldozers have been deployed to clear the road, but repeated landslides continue to obstruct traffic. Plastic sheets have been used at the Ikh landslide in an attempt to prevent further debris from sliding down due to water runoff.
Buddharaj Basnet, president of the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that recurring road collapses and landslides along the Barhabise–Kodari section of the Araniko Highway, particularly after the 2015 earthquake, have long frustrated both traders and locals. “Araniko Highway is not just a road; it is a vital trade route with China.”
When Rasuwagadhi was closed, trade was diverted to Tatopani. Yet, no one paid attention to this border,” he said. The Rasuwagadhi border has been completely closed since the flood in the Lhende River on July 8. Following that closure, Tatopani became the only viable northern trade route, but landslides have blocked it for the past 50 days. This has increased expected import costs and risks of shortages of festival goods across the country.
Currently, traders are importing Dashain-targeted goods from China, including ready-made clothes, shoes, bags, toys, ornaments, and electrical items. Middle- and lower-income families primarily rely on Chinese festival attire and footwear.
Traders report that transporting perishable goods, such as fruits, increases shipping costs—around Rs 100,000 per container when using porters—and some items, like apples and spices, have already started to rot. Items such as apples, walnuts, mangoes, kiwis, and garlic, which spoil quickly, are being imported from China. Basnet noted that if these goods cannot be transported to Nepal, even manually, consumers may not receive them in time for Dashain.
Kumar Shrestha, chair of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-2, said the main reasons for the road collapse are river erosion from below and continuous landslides of debris and stones from above. “No matter how much repair work we do, the landslides keep creating obstructions. Even if the road is rebuilt, rainfall soon washes it away,” he explained.
He further urged traders to ensure that the weight of their vehicles does not exceed the load-bearing capacity of bridges along the affected sections. “Even now, landslides continue whenever it rains. Traders should load goods on trucks within the bridge limits,” he added.
In this context, the local led by Chair Shrestha met with Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Kulman Ghising. Shrestha said that Minister Ghising instructed the Department of Roads to reopen the Araniko Highway connecting Tatopani within two days. Following this, a team including DOR Director General Bijay Jaisi, Deputy DG Prabhat Kumar Jha, landslide expert Madhusudhan Acharya, Udayaraj Neupane, and Shubharaj Neupane visited the blocked highway the next day.
Director General Jaisi assured that a one-way road would be operational within a week. He explained that reopening is challenging due to the Bhotekoshi river erosion beneath and landslides of soil, stones, and debris from above.
“After on-site monitoring and discussions with the concerned authorities, we have decided to reopen the road within at least one week,” he said.
The landslide, which had completely blocked the road since July 23, was partially reopened for one-way traffic on August 21. However, the road section again became blocked three days later and remains fully closed, according to the Customs office Tatopani officer Rajendra Prasad Chudal. He added that customs revenue, previously amounting to millions daily, has been extremely disappointing lately.
“Currently, revenue collection at customs is extremely low. Since goods aren’t arriving here, some traders have chosen sea routes via Indian border points, but that takes a long time and is impractical,” he said. “I have done all I could within my capacity to reopen the road, but the final authority lies elsewhere. Apart from initial efforts, nothing else could be done.”
