‘Border Haats’ to boost peace, security and stability: Experts

By Sujit Chakraborty Agartala, Feb 12 : The ‘Border Haats’ along the India-Bangladesh frontier will promote peace, security, stability and prosperity across the borders, experts, economists and traders said as they urged the government to expand their utility and functioning.
The four Border Haats (markets), set up in Meghalaya and Tripura in 2011, 2012 and 2015 and six more – four in Meghalaya and two in Tripura — have been approved by the governments of India and Bangladesh to promote the local business and livelihood of the people living along both the sides of the frontiers.
However, these Border Haats have remained closed since March last year as precautionary measures against the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown, causing immense loss to the people living bordering villages.
Western Tripura’s Sepahijala District Additional District Magistrate Subhasis Bandopadhay while talking to IANS said that as the Covid induced situation was largely tamed in India and Bangladesh, both the countries are keen to reopen these bordering markets.
Jaipur-based think-tank and international NGO — CUTS International, which have done several studies on the border trade and Border Haats had suggested to the Indian government to restart these local markets maintaining necessary precautions against Covid-19, including social distancing as these markets boost the economy, fortify ties among the people of the two neighbours and also check illegal trades.
CUTS International Executive Director Bipul Chatterjee said that during a virtual discussion on Thursday evening, experts, economists, industry body officials and traders have suggested that the India-Bangladesh “Border Haats” should feed into the larger picture of border areas development.