SATV, Kathmandu, Sept. 16 - More than 400 containers belonging to businesspersons from Sindhupalchowk and other parts of the country were swept away by the devastating Bhotekoshi flood on August 26.
Dozens of drivers and workers associated with the missing containers remain unaccounted for.
Arjun Bahadur Sapkota, chairperson of Nepal Truck Container Transport Service Limited, said more than 100 of the containers were carrying goods, while the remaining containers had been parked awaiting loading. Details of the containers, drivers and workers swept away in the flood are being collected.
Following the disruption of the Tatopani border point, most of the containers had been sent to the Rasuwagadhi border point for transporting goods.
Hundreds of containers belonging to traders and businesspersons from Sindhupalchowk district alone were swept away by the flood, while hundreds of others were damaged.
Some of the containers swept away had already crossed into Chinese territory through the Rasuwagadhi border point to transport goods. Hundreds of containers on the Nepali side of the border were waiting to enter China when they were swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood.
According to Sapkota, 179 containers that had reached a location approximately 25 kilometres from Rasuwagadhi border point have been brought back to Nepal through the Korala border point. Of these, 68 containers were brought into Nepal through Korala on September 6 and 7, while 37 containers were brought through Lichi in the Nepal-China border area on the same dates. The remaining 111 containers are in the process of entering Nepal through Korala.
As the route from Kerung to Lichi via Saga and Dongba covers approximately 400 kilometres, drivers' wages have increased. This has further added to the financial burden on businesspersons affected by the disaster.
Traders have said that transporting goods from Korala to Kathmandu requires travelling approximately 450 kilometres, increasing transportation costs and pushing up the prices of goods by around 20 per cent.
