Lipulekh: Bilateral border trade between India and China has officially resumed through the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim and the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand after a six-year suspension. The trade corridor along the historic Silk Route, which was initially shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent border tensions, officially reopened on August 1. Historically established for modern border commerce in July 2006, the high-altitude pass provides a vital trade link between local communities across both sides of the Himalayan frontier.
Under the finalized operational guidelines, trade activity is scheduled to take place four days a week, from Monday to Thursday, spanning a six-month window from May through November before severe winter conditions set in. Operations will remain restricted to a mutually agreed list of 36 specific commodities. Exporters from the Indian side are permitted to trade traditional handicrafts, textiles, agricultural tools, processed foods, and religious items, while Tibetan imports consist primarily of ready-made garments, footwear, yak products, and household goods. To facilitate cross-border movement, authorities renovated the damaged Nathu La Integrated Checkpost and deployed additional personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, including an all-women platoon.
Simultaneously, cross-border commercial movement through Uttarakhand’s Lipulekh Pass has restarted, with Chinese authorities permitting an initial delegation of 20 Indian traders to travel to Purang Taklakot. This initial group was authorized to cross the border without fresh merchandise in order to assess local infrastructure, inspect leased facilities, and inventory commercial stock left behind when the border unexpectedly closed in 2019. Local trade representatives noted that verifying existing warehouse inventory remains a vital precursor to resuming full-scale commercial shipments into the region.
