Steps taken for entry of container drivers to China

Kathmandu, Aug. 20

The Immigration Department of Nepal has written to the Immigration Office at Timure in Rasuwagadhi and District Administration Office of Rasuwa to implement the procedure related to China entry permit for the drivers of the trucks and containers heading to Kerung in China via the Rasuwagadhi crossing.

The procedure related to the permit to enter China through the Rasuwagadhi border pass was approved at the minister level about four years ago in September 2019. However, since the truck drivers and helpers have not received their entry cards, Federation of Nepal Truck Transport Entrepreneurs, Independent Transport Workers Association of Nepal, and Nepal Truck Container Transport Service Limited have been drawing the attention of the relevant bodies.

The representatives of the concerned organisations had met with the Director General of the Department of Immigration Jhalakram Adhikari to resolve the problem. The Department had held a discussion with the Second Secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal and brought the matter to the attention of the Chinese Customs Authority. After China was positive about the matter, the Director General informed that a correspondence was sent to the border.

As per the procedure issued by the Department of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) in 2019, there are four types of entry permits - driver entry permit, worker entry permit, businessman entry permit, and one-day entry permit.

But drivers and helpers as well as the businessmen have not received China entry permits, so far.

Due to failure to implement the procedures, the drivers of 966 truck containers have to find another driver from Rasuwa district who have China entry permits to take the vehicle to Keyrung from Rasuwagadhi border point. Those drivers charge Rs. 15,000 for the service.

Requesting for the arrangement of passes for the drivers the transport entrepreneurs and workers associations had drawn the attention of Immigration Office, Customs Office, District Administration Office and District Police Office in Rasuwa and Gosaikund Rural Municipality before and after the lockdown.

Bhim Jwala Rai, a trade union leader, said that he was finally happy that the effort of the last five years is finally materializing.

Rajendra Bikram Baniya, Secretary General of the Federation of Nepal Truck Transport Entrepreneurs said that it was a problem of the country rather than the transport businesses.

Implementation of this decision would provide relief to about 3,000 workers that carry goods at and from Rasuwa and Tatopani border points. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 August 2023.