Muktinath (Mustang), May 18: The testing of underground water has been successful in the no-man’s land area of the Korala (Nechung–Liji) border point connecting Nepal and China, located in Lomanthang Rural Municipality–4 of Upper Mustang.
As there was no natural water source at the Korala border point, situated at an altitude of 4,650 meters above sea level, a technical team had begun testing through a drilling machine from Baisakh 26. During the process, water was successfully extracted on Sunday.
Chairperson of the rural municipality, Tasi Nharbu Gurung, informed that water was found at a depth of 120 meters underground. He said, “There will no longer be a drinking water shortage at the border point. We will utilize the water after constructing additional physical infrastructure.”
According to Chairperson Gurung, efforts are underway to develop the necessary infrastructure, including the installation of an electricity meter and construction of water tanks, for regular drinking water supply. Although the extraction process has been successful, he stated that it would still take some time to build a proper potable water system.
The rural municipality carried out the underground drinking water project through Asian Drilling Company at a cost of Rs. 3 million.
Local traders and tourists operating at the border point had long been facing an acute shortage of drinking water. They had been compelled to bring water by tanker from the Chinese side or transport it by vehicles from the Mustang Customs Office located 14 kilometers below the border point. For this, they were paying between Rs. 200 and Rs. 300 per gallon for 20 to 40 liters of water.
Business operators have expressed happiness following the successful underground water testing at Korala. Ward Chairperson of Chhoser and coordinator of the rural municipality’s economic committee, Karma Namgyal, said, “The biggest problem here was drinking water, and now things will become much easier.”
Currently, around 152 traders are operating in 70 tents at the Korala border point. Business operators expressed gratitude to local representatives, including Vice-Chairperson Chhumi Bista Gurung. Earlier, the rural municipality had constructed six temporary toilets, while the Chinese government had provided materials for the construction of four permanent toilets.
At present, drinking water and sanitation facilities remain the major challenges at the Korala border point. Since 600 ropanis of land are registered under the Mustang Customs Office, it has also become difficult to construct physical infrastructure for local facilities.
The border point had remained closed after Tibetan Khampa rebels used Nepali territory to launch resistance activities following Tibet’s incorporation into China in the 1960s. The Korala border point was formally inaugurated on November 13, 2023 (Kartik 27, 2080 BS), and came into commercial operation from September 15, 2025 (Bhadra 30, 2082 BS).
