Tatopani, one of Nepal’s principal trade gateways with China, has remained completely cut off for the past three weeks as a series of landslides continues to block the Arniko Highway, bringing cross-border trade to a standstill and leaving little certainty over when the border point will reopen.

Trade, customs revenue collection and import-export operations have all been suspended after road subsidence at the Eco section, a continuing landslide at Daklang and a fresh landslide at Liping on Monday night severed the only road link to the border.

According to Rajesh Bhandari, an executive committee member of the Nepal Trans-Himalayan Border Commerce Association, traffic has been halted at the Eco section for 23 days after part of the road collapsed, while the Daklang landslide has blocked the highway for 18 days.

The latest landslide at Liping has further diminished hopes of an early resumption of traffic.

“An international highway has remained closed for weeks while the Road Division waits for a Chinese company to begin work,” Bhandari said. “People living along the border feel as though the federal government has abandoned them.”

He said the situation had become even more serious as the road to the Rasuwagadhi border point, Nepal’s other major trade route with China, also remains vulnerable following recent monsoon damage.

The prolonged closure of the Tatopani customs point, which generates billions of rupees in annual revenue, has affected traders on both sides of the border. Goods remain stranded in warehouses and along roads in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, while imports destined for Nepal have piled up for weeks.

Local residents say that despite multiple landslides along the 26-kilometre Bahrabise-Tatopani section of the Arniko Highway, little meaningful repair work has been carried out.

Frustrated by what they describe as the government’s slow response, the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nepal Trans-Himalayan Border Commerce Association issued a joint statement on Saturday accusing the authorities of neglecting the country’s northern border crossings.

The organisations said the government appeared more concerned with collecting customs revenue than investing in long-term infrastructure needed to keep the trade corridor operational.

The road had already been scheduled for repairs.

Last fiscal year, the government awarded a contract worth Rs484.9 million to rehabilitate the damaged section of the highway. But after work had begun, the contract was terminated in May following assurances from the Chinese government that it would undertake the reconstruction itself.

The government subsequently paid the contractor Rs5.4 million in compensation for the cancelled contract.

“Had the contractor been allowed to continue, we would not be facing this situation today,” said Kumar Shrestha, chairperson of Ward 2 of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality.

“The road is now in such poor condition that even local travel has become difficult. We don’t know when the government will finally pay attention.”

Narayan Datta Bhandari, chief of the Road Division Office in Charikot, said the contract had been cancelled following instructions from the federal government after Chinese authorities assured Nepal that an agreement would be signed and construction would begin within a week.

“Four months have passed and we have not heard anything further from the Chinese side,” he said.

He added that conventional maintenance work would not be enough to restore the highway, and the Road Division lacked both the technical capacity and resources to deal with damage on such a scale.

Officials from the Department of Roads, including Federal Road Chief Saujanya Nepal, recently held discussions on possible measures to reopen the highway. Geologist Madhusudan Acharya, senior divisional engineer Pujan Giri and several contractors also attended the meeting.

The landslide damage has also heightened concerns for nearby settlements.

Road subsidence at the Eco section threatens Kodari village above the highway, where around 60 families live. A separate landslide at Charkilo in Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-4 continues to endanger Panthali village, home to another 50 households.

The Eco section has long been vulnerable to annual monsoon damage, with sections of the road repeatedly collapsing into the Bhotekoshi River. This year’s repairs have been further delayed by persistent rainfall, according to the Road Division.

The disruption has left about 150 containers carrying apples, oranges, garlic, ginger, ready-made garments and industrial machinery stranded on the Nepal side of the landslide. More than 45 containers bound for Nepal remain stuck in Nyalam and neighbouring areas across the border in China.

As perishable goods begin to spoil, some traders have resorted to transporting consignments manually across the damaged sections to reach the customs yard.

Traders say they are also increasingly concerned about the security of goods worth millions of rupees left unattended along the highway.

“Businesses are suffering heavy losses with each passing day,” said Buddha Raj Basnet, president of the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“The road has remained shut for weeks. We want to know when the government intends to address this crisis.”