DARJEELING,
June 2. - A Sikkim government team looking into preparations for opening
the Nathu la trade route with China will visit Tibet before the end
of this month.
Director of the group and the chief
economic advisor of Sikkim, Dr Mahendra P Lama, today told reporters
here that the group will survey the land route to Lhasa from the
Sikkim border. The team is expected to depart in the next 20 days.
Trade through Nathu la, originally supposed to start from July this
year, is likely to get significantly delayed, according to Mr Lama.
After the team submits its report in August, it will be around eight
months before trading can actually start from the 14,200-ft Himalayan
pass.
Other members of the team include Mr CV Ranganathan, also convenor
of the National Security Advisory Board, Mr Muchkund Dubey, former
foreign secretary and Mr S Sen, deputy director of the Confederation
of Indian Industries.
The team has already visited Sino-India trading posts at Lipulekh
in Uttaranchal and Shipkilah in Himachal Pradesh, besides Khasa.
Many traders who traded with China pre-1962, including those in
Kalimpong, were interviewed and documents from the National Archive
were studied by the group as part of its fieldwork.
Mr Lama suggested that Sikkim and Tibet would be the main trading
zones involved in the trade through Nathu la. Sikkim will not be
a mere corridor but would actively participate in the trade even
if it means setting up manufacturing houses. `We want Sikkim to
gain maximum from the opening of the trade route,` Mr Lama said.
Sikkim will be issuing the required trade passes to traders interested
in working the route. Quoting chief minister Mr Pawan K Chamling,
Mr Lama said that the opening of the trade route would bring `dramatic
economic benefits to the eastern Himalayas`.
Notably, the distance between Lhasa and Gangtok is only around 527
km, which could make it cheaper for Lhasa to draw its supplies from
India than from its traditional source, mainland China, located
further away.
In the long run, Sikkim will work for the border trade to be turned
into `transit trade`. The latter will allow for freer movement of
people, including tourists. Sikkim as a tourist centre would greatly
benefit from such a situation, pointed out Mr Lama. The Kathmandu-Lhasa
route, which is favoured by foreign travelers in this part of the
world, and which is around 1,300 km, could be dropped for the more
shorter Gangtok-Lhasa route.
Courtesy
The Statesman |
Home | About Us | Contact
Us | Site Map | Feedback
