RASUWA, Aug 1: Rasuwagadhi Customs Office is preparing to install a passenger walk-through gate and a luggage X-Ray machine at the border point. The office said the equipment has already arrived and it will be installed after technical test.

Rasuwagadhi is a major entry point to Nepal bordering China.

"As it is a used machine brought from Biratnagar, it could create some technical issue after installing. So we are first planning to test it," said Chief Custom Official Punya Bikram Khadka. The warranty of machine has also finished.

"We are coordinating with the Department of Customs in this regard. We are concerned that nothing goes wrong with the machine after bringing it into operation," he said.

Officials had long been asking the government to install passenger walk-through gate and luggage X-Ray machine to prevent any illegal activity through the border. They had been stating that in absence of technology, the customs office was facing various problems.

Along with the installation of the gate and machine, the office is planning to provide training to security officials and customs staff to use the equipment properly.

Earlier, Chief District Officer Krishna Paudel had inspected the site and asked the Department of Customs to install the equipment immediately.

Of late, increasing numbers of Chinese and foreign tourists are using the border point to enter Nepal. Due to the absence of equipment, customs officials had to check everything manually.

Mostly, ready-made garments, apples, shoes, glass frames, bags, and stationery items are imported to Nepal via this border. Similarly, statues, woodcraft, broom grass (thysanolaena maxima), bamboo chairs, tooth paste, makeup products, noodles, hair oil, and woolen carpets and are being exported to China via this border.

After China declared Rasuwagadhi an international transit point, the number of traders, businessmen, and their vehicles passing through the checkpoint has risen considerably.

 
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