Palpa, April 15 -- In the cold weather, with gusty winds at an altitude of 4,600 metres, the Korala border, located at the Nepal-China border, sits stark and exposed. Pillar No 24, marked 'Nepal' and erected in 1972, still stands tall.

About 150 metres to the south, Nepal has built a modest one-storey, four-room tin-roof building. The immigration office at the Korala border opened in late October last year, but it closed within a few days and hasn't reopened as of today.

"The provincial government built a four-room building and inaugurated the immigration office," said Pasang Wangdi Gurung, a trader from Mustang, "It was open for maybe three or four days, but after that, no one came. The padlock is still hanging on the door."

According...