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India-China silk route set to re-open
Nathu
La (Sikkim): An ancient trade route between India and China, Nathu
La-Lhasa Silk Route, which is closed for over three decades, is set to
reopen in a month's time, officials said. After a series of negotiations
at government and military levels between the two nations, work is on
at full swing to open the historic trade route shut down in 1974, years
after the neighbours fought war in 1962. "It was part of the old Nathu
La-Lhasa Silk Route through which trade used to take place between India
and China. In 1974, this came to a halt. And thereafter, this year there
are efforts (to re-open the route). Hopefully, the trade would start soon,
on a mutually agreed date between both the governments," Commander SL
Narasimhan, in charge of the sector, said. Though the pass is located
at a very high altitude and tough terrain, the construction of a road
between Nathu La and Lhasa is progressing well. "It's one of the most
important and strategic passes here. You can also see the activity, which
is happening here. It is for the trade, which is opening up between India
and China, likely to open in another month or so. The relations between
India and China are very cordial, very fine. And are going to improve
more once this trade opens up," Colonel Indrajit Singh Chauhan, whose
battalion has been posted in the region for over five months, said. Nathu
La, located in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, is not only a
strategic pass between India and China, but is also significant historically.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama took this pass when he fled to
India. Country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter
Indira Gandhi crossed the pass enroute to Bhutan in 1956.
-June 1, 2006
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