Opening up opportunities
MARCUS DAM
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On July 6, the Nathu La pass was reopened after a 44-year-old hiatus, once again connecting India with China.
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Jeeps make their way through Nathu la to the roof of the world. A change from the earlier mule trains.
VIEW FROM THE CHINESE SIDE: Picture of the Patola Palace on the left, and the Chinese flag on the right. PHOTO: AP
"Nathu" in Tibetan means "the listening ear"; "la" means "a pass". Today the sounds one hears at Nathu La, are more than just the howl of icy winds. Perched in the Himalayas in East Sikkim at an altitude of 14,200 feet, jeeps trundle through the pass that connects India and China. They carry articles for trade that resumed between the two countries after a 44-year hiatus. The re-opening of Nathu La on July 6, coincided with the 71st birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama.
The resumption of trade did have its share of hiccups, however. Those from the Indian side wanting to cross over the border with their goods were initially stopped from doing so by the local customs as they were without the mandatory export-import code that is issued against one's Permanent Account Number (PAN). But then, no trader in Sikkim, a State, which has its own tax manual and is yet to implement the direct income tax rules, is in possession of a PAN.
Mule trains
The Ministry of Commerce intervened and the matter was finally resolved nearly a fortnight after the re-opening of Nathu La.
The jeeps are back on the roads four days a week — Mondays to Thursdays — snaking their way through Nathu La to the "roof of the world" — the Tibet Autonomous Region. They pass vehicles coming from the other side heading for the trade mart at Sherathang, once the location for the army's mule sheds, seven km away from Nathu La.
Most of the mules that were used for transportation before 1962 were brought from Kalimpong in Darjeeling district. An average mule train consisted of between 15 and 50 animals, each carrying 40 to 60 kg of goods. Often accompanying the caravan was a group of Tibetan mastiffs to frighten away thieves in the course of the journey. Their destination then was Yathung in the Tibetan plateau.
The destination has changed; now it is Renqinggang, 31 km from Nathu La. A lot else has since the construction of the trade route from Gangtok to the Chumbi valley in Tibet through Nathu La in the early 20th century. (Correspondences between various British officers during 1904 indicate that the construction of the route had started by then).
Now, the ice along the old trade route has once again begun to thaw.
Memoriesm
A few businessmen now living in Gangtok recall journeys, undertaken before the 1962 war, that spread over four days through the pass.
With their goods strapped to the back of mules, spending nights in wayside inns that were illuminated by lanterns. These inns provided bed-rolls and hot-water. These people carried with them items like vegetables, automobile spare-parts, petrol and watches and brought back silk, raw sheep and yak wool.
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