DEHRADUN: India-China border trade through Uttarakhand’s Lipulekh Pass ended on Monday, five days ahead of schedule, as Indian traders returned home amid warnings of heavy snowfall and severe weather in the high Himalayas.
Trade during the shortened season was valued at about Rs 1.50 crore, with Indian exports to China worth Rs 74.95 lakh and imports totalling around Rs 75.51 lakh.
“All traders have returned safely,” said Dharchula Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ashish Joshi. He said 185 trade passes were issued this year, including 70 for traders and 115 for their helpers. Of them, 47 people — 31 traders and 16 helpers — travelled to China for business.
The annual trade takes place through Lipulekh Pass in Pithoragarh district and the Taklakot (Purang) market in Tibet. The centuries-old trade was suspended after the 1962 India-China war and resumed in 1992. It was halted again in 2019 and remained closed for six years.
The shutdown left goods worth more than Rs 1 crore belonging to around 45 Indian traders stranded in Taklakot. When trade resumed this year, traders were initially allowed to sell only their old stock, while uncertainty over permission to take new goods across the border added to delays.
The season was expected to begin in June but was delayed because arrangements for a new market, shops and accommodation for traders in Taklakot were not ready. After several rounds of discussions, trade began in August, leaving traders with a shorter window to do business.
Heavy snowfall and falling temperatures in the Lipulekh and Taklakot regions further slowed activity in September. Citing safety concerns and the risk of road closures, Chinese authorities directed traders to return by October 26 instead of the scheduled October 31.
Goods brought back from Taklakot are being transported through Lipulekh to Gunji. They will be taken to Dharchula after the Customs Department completes the required checks.
Indian traders traditionally take jaggery, sugar crystals, spices, tea, clothes, woollens, blankets, footwear, cosmetics and household goods to Taklakot. They bring back wool, yarn, pashmina, yak hair, woollen garments, shoes and other local products.
The early closure has dealt another setback to traders in the border region, whose finances were already strained by the six-year suspension. Delayed approvals and the shortened season limited their opportunity to rebuild business after the reopening.