Dehra Dun, 16 June – With Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee leaving for China on June 22, Uttaranchal has set its eyes on reopening of trade links with China through Tibet.
According to an Uttaranchal government estimate, the trade between India and China can reach Rs 50 crore through different routes in Uttaranchal alone.
At present, a minuscule business to the tune of Rs 35-50 lakh is being done through the Lipulake Pass in Pithoragarh district.
This year, China, however, refused the permission for the trade because of the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) scare.
The Uttaranchal government has decided to write to the Prime Minister to take up the demand for opening more trade routes between India and Tibet during his visit.
“We will urge the Prime Minister to take up the demand for opening more trade routes between India and China,” Chief Minister ND Tiwari said in the Uttaranchal Assembly today.
Tiwari said he also wanted reopening of trade links through Nathu La in Sikkim, now the defunct Silk Route, to boost trade between the two countries.
The state government, in a letter to the external affairs ministry, had called for resuming trade with China through routes in Chamoli district, officials said.
The government said the trade between the countries could also be resumed through old trade routes like Mana, Niti and Vanjuwala in the hilly district of Chamoli bordering Tibet.
It is said before the 1962 Indo-China war, trade between the two countries was at its pinnacle.
“If we start business with China through Tibet, then not only Uttaranchal would be a beneficiary, but it will also help in bringing the two countries closer,” said Tiwari.
Meanwhile, with Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani urging Vajpayee to open more routes for the Mansarovar yatra from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal is mounting pressure on the Centre not to change the old route from Pithoragarh.
