A meeting of the committee at Singha Durbar on Thursday issued the order to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation (MoPIT) and the Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS) after lawmakers at the meeting strongly suggested to diversify trade relations rather than just to rely on trade dependency with a single country - India.
According to reports, Nepal's trade dependency on India has constantly been increasing from a minimum of 20 per cent to around 80 per cent at present since the 1989 blockade.
Bhisma Raj Angdembe, chairman of the committee, asked Minister for Commerce and Supply Ganeshman Pun to coordinate with the MoPIT to take up road repair and maintenance work connecting the Nepal-China border points at the earliest and bring the border points into operation in a full-fledged manner. Pun was accompanied by the ministry's secretary Naindra Prasad Upadhaya.
The committee has directed the ministries to repair and upgrade roads connecting especially three border points - Tatopani, Kerung and Koral - that link Nepal with China, informed Sudarshan Khadka, secretary of the committee.
Since the April 25 earthquake, the Tatopani route has remained blocked, obstructing supplies of goods from China, and little efforts have been put by the government to repair the road. Likewise, roads connecting other border points like Kerung in Rasuwa and Koral in Mustang districts to China are in sorry states. As a result, the government has not been able to import essential goods from China in the face of the current crisis due to the India's blockade.
Likewise, the committee has directed the MoCS to give first priority to public transportation while distributing petroleum products, which are being supplied only in a limited quantity from India. Likewise, the committee has also asked the ministry to give top priority to vehicles of emergency services and government bodies.
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