Bangladesh, India to set up 8 more border markets

New Age, 29 July 2012

Dhaka and New Delhi are keen to set up eight more markets along the India-Bangladesh border in the northeastern states, Bangladesh foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes said on Friday.
Two border haats (markets) were set up in Meghalaya last year on a pilot basis and these are now operational.
‘The Bangladesh government has already agreed to India’s proposal to
set up four border haats along the border with Tripura. Study is on
to set up four more border haats in Mizoram,’ Quayes told the IANS.
He said, ‘Through the border haats, besides business in local products, people to people contacts of both sides of the border would be further strengthened.’
The border markets are to be set up within 5 kilometres on either side of the international border.
Tripura’s commerce minister Jitendra Chaudhury said the proposed four border markets would be set up at Raghna and Kamalpur in northern Tripura, Kasba in western Tripura and Srinagar in southern Tripura.
‘If the existing border infrastructure is upgraded, the volume of trade and business between Bangladesh and northeastern states of India would be increased five to six times of the current level,’ the minister added.