Sikkim is pushing for the revival of trade with China through the Nathu-la pass following the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra through the same route this year.
Trade through Nathu-la pass, situated at an altitude of 14,000 feet, resumed in 2006 after 44 years. The trade had been suspended after the 1962 India-China war.
However, trade through the pass, along with the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, was again suspended following the outbreak of Covid-19, which had first been detected in China.
Sources said that Sikkim Rajya Sabha member D.T. Lepcha had met Aishwarya Singh, joint secretary of the commerce department in the Union ministry of commerce and industry, at Udhyog 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 used the term Tibet and not China during the interaction.
Tibet was annexed by China in the 1950s.
The annual Nathu-la trade took place for seven months from May 1 to November 30. However, goods were traded for only four days of the week — from Monday to Thursday — and around 500 traders and over 300 vehicles would be engaged in the trade.
While over 20 items could be imported, around 35 items could be exported through this border point.
The push from the Sikkim government comes following the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu-la from June 20.
This year, the ministry of external affairs allowed the pilgrimage through the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu-la in Sikkim.
Sources said 10 groups of pilgrims would travel through Nathu-la, while five batches would take the Lipulekh pass.
Mount Kailash and the Lake Mansarovar are located in Tibet near the source of four major rivers of Asia — the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra and the Karnali.