Mustang, 24 Dec: The temperature has been dropping to as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius in the mornings and evenings. Local businesses around Nepal-China border pillar No. 24 have already shut down due to the biting cold.
In Upper Mustang, the once bustling areas of Chhoser and Lo Manthang settlements, including hotels and restaurants in the densely populated section along the Korala–Jomsom road, are now closed. While settlements have turned quiet due to the severe cold, electric vehicles from Tibet, China, have been steadily entering through the Lizi–Nechung (Korala) border crossing.
Over the past three days, two hundred electric vehicles (EVs) from Zhongba County of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China have been checked and dispatched from the Mustang Customs Office located in Lo Manthang Rural Municipality–2, Nechung, via the Korala border point. Customs Office Chief Ramesh Khadka stated that there are more than a hundred Chinese BYD vehicles parked at the customs office parking area.
Chief Khadka says, “There is significant pressure from electric vehicles, and due to the extreme cold, we are also inspecting and sending other vehicles.” Although it was anticipated that imports would decrease during the month of Poush (mid-December to mid-January), Office Chief Khadka mentioned that freight trucks and containers carrying other equipment and goods, along with regular electric vehicles, are continuing to enter. With additional goods expected to arrive via the Korala border, there is considerable activity of vehicle drivers at the customs office. Drivers drive the electric vehicles all the way to Pokhara. Due to the cold, there is immense pressure on the charging stations built for these electric vehicles.
In the morning and evening hours, when temperatures are below freezing, freight carriers and EV vehicles must be brought to the customs office, which is 14 kilometers from the Korala border, by clearing the ice frozen on the road. The Mustang Customs Office has collected revenue exceeding NPR 4 billion, 97 crore, and 99 lakh until the 8th of Poush. During this period, 1,974 electric vehicles (EVs) along with goods in 1,620 containers have entered through the customs office. On the export side, there are 121 freight carriers and containers carrying handicraft items, textiles, and other goods produced in Nepal.
According to Customs Office Information Officer Amindra Singh, the border point, which was formally inaugurated from Kartik 27, 2080 BS (mid-November 2023), began commercial operations from Bhadra 30 of the fiscal year 2082-83 (mid-September 2025).
Even vehicles cleared by the customs office are facing problems in operating large containers due to the lack of improvements on the 186-kilometer Korala–Jomsom–Beni road section. To transport goods from Korala to Pokhara, the capital of Gandaki Province, a 251-kilometer road route must be traversed.
The Korola border point, located at an altitude of 4,650 meters above sea level, was closed in the 1960s after Tibet was incorporated into China and Tibetan Khampas used Nepali territory to stage a rebellion. Since the customs office began commercial operations, the residents of Upper Mustang have been facing challenges with employment, trade, and exporting goods.
